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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 120 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. We're almost out of ________________.
  2. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  3. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  4. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  5. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. You don't need to ________________ round.
  8. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  20. The ________________ went through the wall.
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  23. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  24. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. pop — soda
  2. lean — to rest against
  3. lean — to bend
  4. pop — music
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. tear — from crying
  7. pop — to visit
  8. chair — a leader
  9. tear — from crying
  10. wind — moving air
  11. degree — an amount
  12. kid — child
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. degree — from a university
  16. lean — thin
  17. tear — to rip
  18. degree — temperature
  19. chair — a professorship
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. wind — moving air
  22. chair — to sit on
  23. nail — on a finger
  24. kid — to tease

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com