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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. The water is too ________________.
  3. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  7. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  12. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  15. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  18. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  24. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to bend
  2. cold — not warm
  3. race — the arms race
  4. field — farmland
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. lean — to rest against
  7. mouse — the animal
  8. capital — a city
  9. root — the cause
  10. field — for sport
  11. lean — thin
  12. bank — of a river
  13. field — a subject
  14. bank — for money
  15. root — of a plant
  16. race — humankind
  17. mouse — the animal
  18. bank — for money
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. root — of a word
  21. cold — an illness
  22. capital — money
  23. mouse — for a computer
  24. race — a contest

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