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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 coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  3. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  4. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  5. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  6. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  7. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  8. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  9. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  10. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  11. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  12. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  13. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  16. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  17. This piece is in a major ________________.
  18. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  19. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  20. David sat on the ________________.
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  23. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to bend
  2. swing — in golf
  3. key — the most important part
  4. track — a song
  5. lean — to rest against
  6. kick — a thrill
  7. key — for a lock
  8. cap — of ice
  9. track — to keep track
  10. track — a path
  11. cap — a hat
  12. cap — a lid
  13. stem — a stem cell
  14. last — to go on
  15. stem — to come from
  16. swing — music
  17. key — in music
  18. lean — thin
  19. stem — of a plant
  20. swing — to play on
  21. last — final
  22. kick — in football
  23. kick — with a leg
  24. last — finally

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