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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. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  2. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  3. It's one o'clock ________________.
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  6. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  9. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  10. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  11. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  12. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  13. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  16. She's very handy with a ________________.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  19. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  20. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  21. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  22. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  23. There's no middle ________________.
  24. He works in a ________________ mill.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to rest against
  2. squash — the sport
  3. sharp — exactly
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. deal — to handle
  6. deal — an agreement
  7. spring — a coil
  8. deal — a big deal
  9. saw — past of 'see'
  10. squash — to crush
  11. bark — to shout
  12. sharp — clever
  13. squash — the vegetable
  14. spring — of water
  15. sharp — with an edge
  16. saw — the tool
  17. spring — the season
  18. bark — of a tree
  19. ground — the earth
  20. lean — thin
  21. ground — crushed
  22. lean — to bend
  23. ground — a position
  24. saw — the tool

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