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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 120 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. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  5. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  8. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  9. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  13. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  14. He works in a ________________ mill.
  15. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  18. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  19. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. She's very handy with a ________________.
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  24. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to bend
  2. prune — to trim
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. pound — for dogs
  5. kick — in football
  6. field — a subject
  7. lean — thin
  8. bore — to drill
  9. kick — a thrill
  10. wound — an injury
  11. wound — an injury
  12. kick — with a leg
  13. bore — to tire
  14. saw — the tool
  15. saw — past of 'see'
  16. field — for sport
  17. bore — gave birth
  18. lean — to rest against
  19. pound — a weight
  20. field — farmland
  21. saw — the tool
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. pound — to hit hard
  24. prune — to trim

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