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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. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  2. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  3. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  4. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  5. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  6. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  15. This piece is in a major ________________.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  19. The ________________ went through the wall.
  20. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  21. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — thin
  2. staff — employees
  3. key — the most important part
  4. bore — to drill
  5. bore — to tire
  6. key — for a lock
  7. chest — a box
  8. wind — moving air
  9. lean — to rest against
  10. chest — of your body
  11. lean — to bend
  12. chest — of your body
  13. shower — to wash
  14. nail — on a finger
  15. key — in music
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. wind — moving air
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. bore — gave birth
  21. staff — a stick
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. shower — rain
  24. staff — employees

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