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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 was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. He is an ace ________________.
  3. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  6. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  7. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  8. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  9. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  10. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  15. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  16. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  17. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  20. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  23. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  24. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. lean — to rest against
  4. mine — for digging
  5. foot — a measure
  6. root — the cause
  7. foot — part of the body
  8. snap — to snap out of it
  9. patient — calm and waiting
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. capital — a city
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. snap — to click
  16. foot — the bottom
  17. root — of a word
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. lean — thin
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. capital — money
  22. root — of a plant
  23. snap — to speak sharply
  24. lean — to bend

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