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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. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  2. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  5. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  6. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  7. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  12. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. My mare is ________________ in color.
  17. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  18. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  21. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  22. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  23. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  24. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — thin
  2. squash — the sport
  3. spring — a coil
  4. lean — to bend
  5. bass — the instrument
  6. squash — the vegetable
  7. dip — a sauce
  8. cold — an illness
  9. bass — low music
  10. spring — of water
  11. bass — the fish
  12. fork — to eat with
  13. spring — the season
  14. bay — a part of the sea
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. bay — a horse colour
  17. lean — to rest against
  18. dip — to dunk
  19. cold — not warm
  20. dip — to sink
  21. fork — in a road
  22. squash — to crush
  23. bay — to keep at bay
  24. fork — a garden 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