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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. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  6. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  7. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  8. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  9. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  10. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  11. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  14. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  17. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  18. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  19. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  20. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  21. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  22. The ________________ went through the wall.
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  24. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — on a finger
  2. chest — of your body
  3. lean — thin
  4. chest — a box
  5. squash — to crush
  6. lean — to rest against
  7. squash — the sport
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. squash — the vegetable
  10. patient — calm and waiting
  11. root — the cause
  12. tear — from crying
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. scale — for weighing
  15. tear — to rip
  16. scale — size or range
  17. lean — to bend
  18. scale — in music
  19. chest — of your body
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. root — of a plant
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. tear — from crying
  24. root — of a word

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