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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. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  3. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  4. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  7. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  8. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  11. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. It's one o'clock ________________.
  15. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. Have you met the new head ________________?
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  20. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  21. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to bend
  2. lean — to rest against
  3. coach — pulled by horses
  4. lean — thin
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. bowl — to roll
  7. branch — of a tree
  8. sharp — clever
  9. court — of a king
  10. branch — a division
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. court — for sport
  13. court — of law
  14. sharp — exactly
  15. branch — of a bank
  16. field — a subject
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. mine — for digging
  19. sharp — with an edge
  20. bowl — a football final
  21. bowl — a dish
  22. field — for sport
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. field — farmland

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