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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 124 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.

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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. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  6. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  19. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — thin
  2. last — to go on
  3. lean — to rest against
  4. shower — to wash
  5. kick — with a leg
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. degree — an amount
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. patient — calm and waiting
  11. file — a tool
  12. degree — temperature
  13. degree — from a university
  14. file — a line of people
  15. last — finally
  16. last — final
  17. content — the amount
  18. kick — in football
  19. lean — to bend
  20. file — a document
  21. content — happy
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. shower — rain
  24. kick — a thrill

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