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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. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  2. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  6. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  7. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  10. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  11. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  14. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  15. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  16. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  17. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  21. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  24. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.

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

Answer key

  1. safe — out of danger
  2. ruler — a monarch
  3. game — wild animals
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. present — the time now
  6. lean — thin
  7. safe — out of danger
  8. game — a match
  9. present — there
  10. lean — to rest against
  11. present — a gift
  12. kid — to tease
  13. ruler — for measuring
  14. row — a line
  15. lean — to bend
  16. safe — a strongbox
  17. pound — to hit hard
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. kid — child
  20. row — a quarrel
  21. pound — a weight
  22. row — to paddle
  23. ruler — for measuring
  24. pound — for dogs

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