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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. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  2. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  7. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  8. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  9. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  10. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  11. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  12. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  13. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  18. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  21. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  22. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  23. There's no middle ________________.
  24. He took the fish out of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to bend
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. rule — government
  4. cell — a phone
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. rule — a law
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. lean — thin
  9. patient — calm and waiting
  10. lean — to rest against
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. ground — crushed
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. cell — in biology
  15. net — after costs
  16. net — in sport
  17. rule — to rule out
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. ground — the earth
  21. mine — for digging
  22. stick — to attach or keep to
  23. ground — a position
  24. net — for catching

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