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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. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  2. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  3. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  4. Where did you ________________ them?
  5. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. Don't do anything ________________.
  10. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  15. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  21. He is an ace ________________.
  22. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  23. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  24. I had a ________________ with my boss today.

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

Answer key

  1. safe — out of danger
  2. mug — a face
  3. lean — thin
  4. mug — to rob
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. cold — an illness
  7. cold — not warm
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. rash — hasty
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. rash — a series
  13. row — a line
  14. safe — a strongbox
  15. mug — a cup
  16. hand — help
  17. row — to paddle
  18. safe — out of danger
  19. hand — in cards
  20. rash — on the skin
  21. pitcher — in baseball
  22. lean — to bend
  23. lean — to rest against
  24. row — a quarrel

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