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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. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  9. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  12. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  13. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  14. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  15. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  16. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  17. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  18. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  21. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  22. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  23. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to bend
  2. mate — a partner
  3. pit — a fruit stone
  4. spring — the season
  5. spring — a coil
  6. mate — a friend
  7. degree — an amount
  8. lean — to rest against
  9. leaves — lets stay
  10. spring — of water
  11. lean — thin
  12. face — to confront
  13. pit — in a race
  14. face — part of the head
  15. cap — a hat
  16. face — to point toward
  17. cap — a lid
  18. cap — of ice
  19. degree — from a university
  20. mate — to breed
  21. pit — a hole
  22. leaves — of a tree
  23. leaves — to go away
  24. degree — temperature

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