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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: rest · straw · content · racket · kid · ground · lean · pass

  1. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  2. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  3. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  7. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  8. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  13. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  16. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  17. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — thin
  2. racket — a loud noise
  3. rest — what's left
  4. content — happy
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. pass — a permit
  7. pass — to succeed
  8. lean — to bend
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. lean — to rest against
  11. ground — a position
  12. rest — a break
  13. ground — the earth
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. rest — what's left
  18. kid — to tease
  19. pass — to spend time
  20. kid — child
  21. ground — crushed
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. content — the amount

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