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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. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  2. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  6. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  10. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  11. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  12. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  15. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  16. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  17. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  24. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to rest against
  2. vault — a safe
  3. kid — to tease
  4. kid — child
  5. can — to be able to
  6. can — a tin
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. current — happening now
  11. lean — thin
  12. can — a tin
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. vault — in gymnastics
  15. lean — to bend
  16. current — electric
  17. stick — to attach or keep to
  18. hand — in cards
  19. hand — help
  20. current — of water
  21. cold — an illness
  22. cold — not warm
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  24. vault — an arched ceiling

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