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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 116 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. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  2. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  5. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  6. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  7. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  8. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  9. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  14. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  15. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  16. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  17. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — a break
  2. pit — a fruit stone
  3. shower — to wash
  4. lean — thin
  5. firm — steady
  6. lean — to bend
  7. firm — decided
  8. lean — to rest against
  9. rest — what's left
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. rest — what's left
  12. hand — in cards
  13. can — a tin
  14. can — to be able to
  15. pit — in a race
  16. pit — a hole
  17. can — a tin
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. hand — help
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. shower — rain
  22. firm — a company
  23. straw — a straw man
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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