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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. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  3. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  7. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  10. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  11. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  12. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  13. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  14. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  15. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  18. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to bend
  2. ruler — for measuring
  3. lean — thin
  4. degree — from a university
  5. race — humankind
  6. trunk — of an elephant
  7. trunk — of a tree
  8. degree — temperature
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. can — a tin
  11. can — a tin
  12. race — a contest
  13. can — to be able to
  14. lean — to rest against
  15. patient — calm and waiting
  16. race — the arms race
  17. ruler — a monarch
  18. trunk — of a car
  19. game — wild animals
  20. degree — an amount
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. game — a match
  24. ruler — for measuring

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