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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. It's one o'clock ________________.
  2. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  3. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  4. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  7. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  8. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  9. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  12. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  17. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  18. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  19. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  20. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  23. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  24. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — exactly
  2. lean — to bend
  3. lean — thin
  4. squash — the sport
  5. chest — of your body
  6. sharp — clever
  7. staff — a stick
  8. squash — the vegetable
  9. staff — employees
  10. chest — of your body
  11. lean — to rest against
  12. face — to point toward
  13. spring — the season
  14. chest — a box
  15. spring — a coil
  16. mark — a trace
  17. sharp — with an edge
  18. mark — to pay attention
  19. face — part of the head
  20. face — to confront
  21. spring — of water
  22. mark — a grade
  23. staff — employees
  24. squash — to crush

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