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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. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  5. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  9. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  10. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  11. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  12. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  13. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  14. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  15. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  16. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  23. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  24. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. lean — to rest against
  3. ground — a position
  4. wake — before a funeral
  5. trunk — of a tree
  6. wind — moving air
  7. degree — from a university
  8. deal — a big deal
  9. trunk — of an elephant
  10. ground — the earth
  11. deal — to handle
  12. branch — of a bank
  13. branch — of a tree
  14. deal — an agreement
  15. wake — to stop sleeping
  16. wake — a trail
  17. degree — an amount
  18. wind — moving air
  19. trunk — of a car
  20. degree — temperature
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. branch — a division
  23. lean — thin
  24. lean — to bend

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