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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. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  4. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  5. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  6. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  7. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  8. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  9. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. I've got to change the light ________________.
  16. The light ________________ burned out.
  17. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  18. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  21. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  22. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  23. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to rest against
  2. cell — a phone
  3. lean — thin
  4. bulb — of a plant
  5. rule — a law
  6. lie — to recline
  7. prune — to trim
  8. branch — of a tree
  9. prune — the fruit
  10. field — for sport
  11. branch — a division
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. field — a subject
  15. bulb — for light
  16. bulb — for light
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. lean — to bend
  19. cell — in biology
  20. rule — to rule out
  21. rule — government
  22. prune — to trim
  23. branch — of a bank
  24. field — farmland

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