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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. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  2. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  3. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  4. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  5. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  6. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  7. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  8. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  9. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  10. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  11. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  12. I'll be taking the ________________.
  13. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  14. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  15. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  16. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  17. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  18. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  19. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  22. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  23. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  24. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. dip — a sauce
  3. lean — thin
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. squash — to crush
  6. bore — to tire
  7. stick — to attach or keep to
  8. net — for catching
  9. squash — the sport
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. hide — animal skin
  12. tube — the underground
  13. tube — a container
  14. squash — the vegetable
  15. bore — gave birth
  16. tube — in a tire
  17. net — after costs
  18. lean — to bend
  19. dip — to dunk
  20. net — in sport
  21. hide — to keep secret
  22. lean — to rest against
  23. bore — to drill
  24. dip — to sink

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