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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. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  2. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  11. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  15. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  16. There's no middle ________________.
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  19. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  22. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  23. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  24. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — thin
  2. lean — to bend
  3. land — ground
  4. mark — a trace
  5. capital — a city
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. mark — a grade
  9. capital — money
  10. stem — a stem cell
  11. stem — of a plant
  12. hand — in cards
  13. hand — help
  14. stem — to come from
  15. lean — to rest against
  16. ground — a position
  17. land — a country
  18. toast — bread
  19. toast — a drink to someone
  20. land — to come down
  21. ground — the earth
  22. ground — crushed
  23. toast — the most admired
  24. mark — to pay attention

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