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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. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  4. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. She's very handy with a ________________.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  11. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  12. He works in a ________________ mill.
  13. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  16. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  17. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  18. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  19. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  20. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  21. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  22. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  23. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to bend
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. wave — of the sea
  4. prune — the fruit
  5. wind — moving air
  6. bear — to put up with
  7. cold — not warm
  8. saw — the tool
  9. cold — an illness
  10. mark — a trace
  11. bear — the animal
  12. saw — the tool
  13. lean — thin
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. prune — to trim
  16. bear — the animal
  17. wave — a sudden rise
  18. lean — to rest against
  19. wave — with your hand
  20. saw — past of 'see'
  21. prune — to trim
  22. mark — a grade
  23. mark — to pay attention
  24. wind — moving air

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