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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. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  6. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  7. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  8. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  9. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  10. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  11. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  12. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  13. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  14. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  15. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  16. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  17. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  23. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  24. She had a strange look on her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to bend
  2. field — a subject
  3. face — to confront
  4. cold — an illness
  5. root — of a word
  6. vault — a safe
  7. ruler — for measuring
  8. vault — an arched ceiling
  9. vault — in gymnastics
  10. lean — to rest against
  11. lean — thin
  12. face — to point toward
  13. ruler — a monarch
  14. dip — to dunk
  15. dip — a sauce
  16. ruler — for measuring
  17. dip — to sink
  18. cold — not warm
  19. field — for sport
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. field — farmland
  22. root — the cause
  23. root — of a plant
  24. face — part of the head

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