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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 124 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. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  5. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  8. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  9. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  14. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  15. When was this ________________ built?
  16. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  17. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  18. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  19. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  20. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  23. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to bend
  2. snap — to snap out of it
  3. mine — for digging
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. stem — of a plant
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. pitch — completely
  8. calf — a young animal
  9. lean — thin
  10. kid — to tease
  11. pitch — a sports field
  12. kid — child
  13. temple — side of the head
  14. lean — to rest against
  15. temple — a place of worship
  16. pitch — a sales talk
  17. temple — a place of worship
  18. stem — to come from
  19. snap — to speak sharply
  20. stem — a stem cell
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. calf — of the leg
  23. snap — to click
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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