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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. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  2. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  3. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  4. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  5. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  6. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  7. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  10. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  11. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  12. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  13. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  14. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. The ________________ went through the wall.
  21. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  24. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.

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

Answer key

  1. present — there
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. lean — thin
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. scale — size or range
  6. present — the time now
  7. lean — to rest against
  8. shower — to wash
  9. lean — to bend
  10. can — a tin
  11. present — a gift
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. can — to be able to
  14. stick — to attach or keep to
  15. degree — an amount
  16. degree — from a university
  17. shower — rain
  18. nail — on a finger
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. scale — in music
  22. degree — temperature
  23. scale — for weighing
  24. can — a tin

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