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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. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  3. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  6. How do you ________________ your surname?
  7. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  8. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  16. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  17. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  22. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  23. Where did you ________________ them?
  24. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to rest against
  2. spell — a short time
  3. squash — to crush
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. chest — a box
  6. spell — letters
  7. mug — a cup
  8. dip — to sink
  9. wind — moving air
  10. dip — a sauce
  11. chest — of your body
  12. lean — thin
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. shower — to wash
  15. lean — to bend
  16. spell — magic
  17. dip — to dunk
  18. shower — rain
  19. chest — of your body
  20. wind — moving air
  21. squash — the vegetable
  22. squash — the sport
  23. mug — to rob
  24. mug — a face

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