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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. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  2. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  5. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  9. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  10. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  19. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  22. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  23. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  24. How do you ________________ your surname?

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to rest against
  2. fork — a garden tool
  3. spring — of water
  4. current — of water
  5. spell — a short time
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. file — a tool
  8. lean — to bend
  9. squash — to crush
  10. fork — to eat with
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. file — a document
  13. squash — the vegetable
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. squash — the sport
  16. spring — a coil
  17. spring — the season
  18. fork — in a road
  19. current — electric
  20. file — a line of people
  21. current — happening now
  22. spell — magic
  23. lean — thin
  24. spell — letters

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