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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. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  2. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  5. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  10. The light ________________ burned out.
  11. I've got to change the light ________________.
  12. There's no middle ________________.
  13. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  14. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  15. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  16. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  17. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  18. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  21. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  24. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to bend
  2. cue — for pool
  3. tear — from crying
  4. dip — to dunk
  5. lean — thin
  6. cold — an illness
  7. ground — the earth
  8. cold — not warm
  9. dip — a sauce
  10. bulb — for light
  11. bulb — for light
  12. ground — a position
  13. lean — to rest against
  14. cue — a hint
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. dip — to sink
  17. bulb — of a plant
  18. stick — to attach or keep to
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. cue — a signal
  21. ground — crushed
  22. tear — to rip
  23. tear — from crying
  24. stick — a piece of wood

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