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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. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  2. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  3. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  6. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  9. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  10. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  11. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  12. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  13. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  23. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in biology
  2. lean — to rest against
  3. lean — to bend
  4. cell — a phone
  5. ground — crushed
  6. foot — the bottom
  7. ground — a position
  8. ground — the earth
  9. scale — in music
  10. foot — part of the body
  11. lean — thin
  12. scale — size or range
  13. scale — for weighing
  14. land — a country
  15. present — there
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. land — ground
  19. present — the time now
  20. land — to come down
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. present — a gift
  23. foot — a measure
  24. cell — in a prison

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