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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 120 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. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  3. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  4. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  5. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  6. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  7. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  8. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  9. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  10. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. We're almost out of ________________.
  13. You don't need to ________________ round.
  14. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  19. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  24. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!

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

Answer key

  1. lean — thin
  2. fork — to eat with
  3. fork — in a road
  4. pass — to succeed
  5. squash — the sport
  6. wound — an injury
  7. squash — the vegetable
  8. pass — a permit
  9. lean — to bend
  10. squash — to crush
  11. cell — a phone
  12. pop — soda
  13. pop — to visit
  14. pop — music
  15. cell — in biology
  16. fork — a garden tool
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. bear — the animal
  19. lean — to rest against
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. bear — the animal
  22. wound — an injury
  23. pass — to spend time
  24. bear — to put up with

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