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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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  6. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  7. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  8. It's one o'clock ________________.
  9. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  10. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  11. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  14. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  15. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  16. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  17. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  20. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  21. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  22. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  23. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. mine — for digging
  3. rest — a break
  4. hand — in cards
  5. rest — what's left
  6. track — a path
  7. lean — to bend
  8. sharp — exactly
  9. lean — thin
  10. track — a song
  11. sharp — clever
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. lean — to rest against
  14. squash — the vegetable
  15. rest — what's left
  16. sharp — with an edge
  17. bore — to drill
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. bore — gave birth
  20. squash — to crush
  21. squash — the sport
  22. bore — to tire
  23. track — to keep track
  24. hand — part of the body

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