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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. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  2. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  3. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  6. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  9. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  15. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  24. I'd like to play a game of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — thin
  2. lean — to rest against
  3. face — to confront
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. bowl — a football final
  6. face — to point toward
  7. hand — help
  8. bowl — a dish
  9. bowl — to roll
  10. kid — child
  11. squash — the vegetable
  12. hand — in cards
  13. chest — of your body
  14. squash — to crush
  15. face — part of the head
  16. kid — to tease
  17. mine — for digging
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. lean — to bend
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. chest — of your body
  23. chest — a box
  24. squash — the sport

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