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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 124 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. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  3. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  4. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  5. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  6. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  7. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  10. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  11. The ________________ went through the wall.
  12. He is an ace ________________.
  13. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  14. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  15. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  16. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  17. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  18. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  19. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  20. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  21. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  22. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  23. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  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. pitcher — a jug
  3. rule — a law
  4. cap — a hat
  5. row — to paddle
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. cap — of ice
  10. lean — thin
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. pitcher — in baseball
  13. sharp — with an edge
  14. lean — to rest against
  15. rule — government
  16. cap — a lid
  17. squash — the sport
  18. sharp — clever
  19. nail — on a finger
  20. rule — to rule out
  21. squash — the vegetable
  22. row — a line
  23. squash — to crush
  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