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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. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  3. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  4. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  5. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  8. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  9. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  10. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  11. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  14. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  21. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. He is as ________________ as a wolf.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to rest against
  2. lean — to bend
  3. wake — a trail
  4. squash — the sport
  5. squash — the vegetable
  6. kid — child
  7. stem — to come from
  8. wake — before a funeral
  9. stem — of a plant
  10. squash — to crush
  11. wake — to stop sleeping
  12. hand — help
  13. fork — a garden tool
  14. fork — to eat with
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. kid — to tease
  17. shower — rain
  18. shower — to wash
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. stem — a stem cell
  21. fork — in a road
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. hand — in cards
  24. lean — thin

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