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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. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  2. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  3. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  4. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  5. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. He is an ace ________________.
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  15. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  16. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  19. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  22. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  23. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  24. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to rest against
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. lash — a whip stroke
  4. ruler — a monarch
  5. ruler — for measuring
  6. hand — in cards
  7. pitcher — in baseball
  8. bark — to shout
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. kid — child
  11. court — for sport
  12. kid — to tease
  13. court — of law
  14. lash — an eyelash
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. lean — thin
  17. hand — help
  18. lean — to bend
  19. bark — a dog's sound
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. bark — of a tree
  22. ruler — for measuring
  23. lash — to lash out
  24. court — of a king

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