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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. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  2. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  3. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. We're almost out of ________________.
  7. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  10. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  17. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  18. You don't need to ________________ round.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  23. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  24. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — thin
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. lean — to rest against
  4. file — a line of people
  5. hand — help
  6. pop — soda
  7. file — a document
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. racket — a loud noise
  10. squash — the vegetable
  11. spring — the season
  12. squash — the sport
  13. spring — of water
  14. bore — gave birth
  15. squash — to crush
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. bore — to tire
  18. pop — to visit
  19. spring — a coil
  20. file — a tool
  21. hand — in cards
  22. bore — to drill
  23. pop — music
  24. lean — to bend

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