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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. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  3. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  4. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  7. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  14. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  15. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  16. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  19. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  20. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  24. It's one o'clock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to bend
  2. foot — part of the body
  3. squash — the sport
  4. bore — to tire
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. bore — to drill
  7. lean — to rest against
  8. hand — in cards
  9. kid — child
  10. squash — the vegetable
  11. kid — to tease
  12. hand — help
  13. foot — the bottom
  14. lean — thin
  15. bore — gave birth
  16. band — a rubber band
  17. band — a ring
  18. sharp — with an edge
  19. squash — to crush
  20. foot — a measure
  21. band — a music group
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. sharp — clever
  24. sharp — exactly

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