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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. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  5. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. When was this ________________ built?
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  16. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  17. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  18. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  19. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  20. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. David sat on the ________________.
  24. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — thin
  2. fork — to eat with
  3. tear — to rip
  4. swing — music
  5. snap — to speak sharply
  6. wind — moving air
  7. tear — from crying
  8. tear — from crying
  9. lean — to rest against
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. temple — a place of worship
  12. capital — a city
  13. temple — side of the head
  14. capital — money
  15. snap — to click
  16. lean — to bend
  17. fork — in a road
  18. temple — a place of worship
  19. swing — in golf
  20. fork — a garden tool
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. wind — moving air
  23. swing — to play on
  24. snap — to snap out of it

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