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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. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  2. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  3. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  4. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  9. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  10. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  11. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  12. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  16. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  17. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  18. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  19. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  20. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  21. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  22. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  23. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  24. He is as ________________ as a wolf.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to bend
  2. dip — to sink
  3. content — videos and posts
  4. lean — to rest against
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. root — of a word
  9. chair — a leader
  10. kick — in football
  11. dip — a sauce
  12. chair — to sit on
  13. bat — the animal
  14. content — the amount
  15. dip — to dunk
  16. pound — to hit hard
  17. kick — a thrill
  18. root — of a plant
  19. pound — for dogs
  20. content — happy
  21. kick — with a leg
  22. root — the cause
  23. pound — a weight
  24. lean — thin

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