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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. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  2. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  3. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  9. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  10. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  17. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  18. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  19. The ________________ took off on time.
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  22. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  23. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  24. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. can — to be able to
  2. lean — thin
  3. lie — an untruth
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. lean — to bend
  6. band — a ring
  7. kid — child
  8. squash — the vegetable
  9. lean — to rest against
  10. can — a tin
  11. band — a music group
  12. lie — to recline
  13. kid — to tease
  14. tear — from crying
  15. tear — to rip
  16. plane — a tool
  17. can — a tin
  18. squash — to crush
  19. plane — an aircraft
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. plane — in geometry
  22. lie — an untruth
  23. squash — the sport
  24. tear — from crying

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