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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.

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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. The ________________ went through the wall.
  2. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  3. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  11. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  14. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  21. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  24. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — for a hammer
  2. lean — to rest against
  3. lean — to bend
  4. last — finally
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. cold — an illness
  8. last — final
  9. tear — from crying
  10. stick — to attach or keep to
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. cold — not warm
  13. lean — thin
  14. snap — to speak sharply
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. content — the amount
  18. snap — to click
  19. tear — from crying
  20. content — happy
  21. stick — a piece of wood
  22. tear — to rip
  23. last — to go on
  24. nail — on a finger

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