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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 met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  3. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. When will it ________________ you to start?
  8. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  9. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  14. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  15. She's very handy with a ________________.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  18. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  19. He works in a ________________ mill.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  24. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. suit — in cards
  3. lean — thin
  4. file — a tool
  5. snap — to click
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. suit — to fit
  8. saw — past of 'see'
  9. lean — to bend
  10. mine — for digging
  11. file — a document
  12. file — a line of people
  13. snap — to snap out of it
  14. rest — a break
  15. saw — the tool
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. rest — what's left
  18. suit — clothes
  19. saw — the tool
  20. kid — child
  21. snap — to speak sharply
  22. kid — to tease
  23. rest — what's left
  24. lean — to rest against

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