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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. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  2. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  5. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  10. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  18. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  19. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  20. This piece is in a major ________________.
  21. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  22. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — a straw man
  2. lean — to rest against
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. ruler — a monarch
  5. prune — to trim
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. pound — for dogs
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. prune — to trim
  10. key — for a lock
  11. cold — not warm
  12. cold — an illness
  13. ruler — for measuring
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. lean — to bend
  16. hand — in cards
  17. ruler — for measuring
  18. key — the most important part
  19. prune — the fruit
  20. key — in music
  21. lean — thin
  22. pound — a weight
  23. hand — help
  24. pound — to hit hard

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