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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. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  3. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  4. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  5. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  6. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  7. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  8. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  12. There's no middle ________________.
  13. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  17. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  18. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  19. David sat on the ________________.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  22. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  23. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  24. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. chip — in a computer
  3. lean — to bend
  4. ground — the earth
  5. lean — to rest against
  6. chip — for betting
  7. stem — to come from
  8. lie — an untruth
  9. spring — of water
  10. spring — the season
  11. lean — thin
  12. ground — a position
  13. stem — a stem cell
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. ground — crushed
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. lie — to recline
  19. swing — to play on
  20. spring — a coil
  21. swing — in golf
  22. swing — music
  23. chip — to eat
  24. stem — of a plant

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