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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. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  2. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  3. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  4. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  5. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  6. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  7. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  8. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  9. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  10. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  14. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  18. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  19. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  20. He is an ace ________________.
  21. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  22. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  23. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to rest against
  2. lean — thin
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. stem — to come from
  5. club — for golf
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. stem — of a plant
  8. club — for dancing
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. stem — a stem cell
  11. ground — a position
  12. degree — an amount
  13. trunk — of a car
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. degree — from a university
  16. degree — temperature
  17. perch — the fish
  18. club — a group
  19. trunk — of a tree
  20. pitcher — in baseball
  21. ground — crushed
  22. lean — to bend
  23. trunk — of an elephant
  24. ground — the earth

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