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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. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  2. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  6. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. You don't need to ________________ round.
  10. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. We're almost out of ________________.
  13. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  14. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  15. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  16. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  17. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  20. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  23. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to rest against
  2. content — the amount
  3. content — videos and posts
  4. kid — to tease
  5. pass — to succeed
  6. prune — to trim
  7. hand — in cards
  8. content — happy
  9. pop — to visit
  10. object — to protest
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. pop — soda
  13. prune — the fruit
  14. pass — to spend time
  15. prune — to trim
  16. lean — to bend
  17. lean — thin
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. object — a thing
  20. pop — music
  21. hand — help
  22. pass — a permit
  23. object — an aim
  24. kid — child

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