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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. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  2. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  5. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  6. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  7. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  17. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  18. It's one o'clock ________________.
  19. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — with an edge
  2. stem — of a plant
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. lean — to rest against
  5. lean — thin
  6. rock — a stone
  7. rock — to move gently
  8. degree — temperature
  9. sharp — clever
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. land — ground
  12. wind — moving air
  13. lean — to bend
  14. wind — moving air
  15. degree — from a university
  16. stem — to come from
  17. rock — music
  18. sharp — exactly
  19. cell — a phone
  20. land — a country
  21. land — to come down
  22. stem — a stem cell
  23. degree — an amount
  24. cell — in biology

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