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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. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  3. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  4. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. When was this ________________ built?
  8. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  9. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  10. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  11. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  14. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  15. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  16. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  17. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  18. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  19. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. He is an ace ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to bend
  2. branch — of a bank
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. lean — to rest against
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. cold — an illness
  7. temple — a place of worship
  8. branch — a division
  9. lean — thin
  10. jam — in traffic
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. temple — a place of worship
  14. snap — to speak sharply
  15. temple — side of the head
  16. snap — to click
  17. jam — to spread on bread
  18. snap — to snap out of it
  19. jam — a tight spot
  20. cold — not warm
  21. branch — of a tree
  22. mine — for digging
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. pitcher — in baseball

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