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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. When are we going to ________________?
  3. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  4. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  5. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  13. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  14. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  17. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  18. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  19. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  20. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  21. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to bend
  2. land — to come down
  3. lean — to rest against
  4. object — a thing
  5. object — an aim
  6. land — a country
  7. branch — of a tree
  8. degree — an amount
  9. degree — from a university
  10. branch — a division
  11. land — ground
  12. track — a song
  13. root — of a plant
  14. object — to protest
  15. wind — moving air
  16. lean — thin
  17. track — to keep track
  18. root — the cause
  19. track — a path
  20. branch — of a bank
  21. root — of a word
  22. wind — moving air
  23. wind — to turn a key
  24. degree — temperature

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