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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. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  2. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  3. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  8. That must've been a ________________.
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  14. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  15. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  18. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  19. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  24. My mare is ________________ in color.

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

Answer key

  1. present — there
  2. lean — thin
  3. lean — to bend
  4. snap — to click
  5. present — a gift
  6. kid — to tease
  7. lean — to rest against
  8. rush — a thrill
  9. content — happy
  10. wind — moving air
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. bay — to keep at bay
  14. bay — a part of the sea
  15. rush — to hurry
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. present — the time now
  18. rush — hurry
  19. snap — to snap out of it
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. kid — child
  22. wind — moving air
  23. content — the amount
  24. bay — a horse colour

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