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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 116 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. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  5. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  6. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  7. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  8. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  9. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  10. David sat on the ________________.
  11. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  12. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  13. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  16. There's no middle ________________.
  17. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  18. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  19. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  20. It's one o'clock ________________.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  23. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  24. This knife is not ________________ enough.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to bend
  2. squash — to crush
  3. band — a music group
  4. ground — the earth
  5. wake — a trail
  6. sharp — clever
  7. lean — thin
  8. stem — to come from
  9. squash — the sport
  10. swing — to play on
  11. stem — of a plant
  12. lean — to rest against
  13. swing — in golf
  14. band — a ring
  15. wake — before a funeral
  16. ground — a position
  17. ground — crushed
  18. squash — the vegetable
  19. wake — to stop sleeping
  20. sharp — exactly
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. swing — music
  23. stem — a stem cell
  24. sharp — with an edge

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