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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. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  3. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  4. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  7. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  8. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  11. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. He works in a ________________ mill.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  17. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  18. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  19. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  20. She's very handy with a ________________.
  21. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  22. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  23. Have you found your soul ________________?
  24. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to bend
  2. straw — to clutch at straws
  3. stem — of a plant
  4. lean — to rest against
  5. degree — from a university
  6. mate — to breed
  7. pitch — completely
  8. pitch — a sports field
  9. degree — temperature
  10. mate — a friend
  11. wake — before a funeral
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. saw — the tool
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. degree — an amount
  16. wake — to stop sleeping
  17. wake — a trail
  18. saw — past of 'see'
  19. stem — to come from
  20. saw — the tool
  21. pitch — a sales talk
  22. lean — thin
  23. mate — a partner
  24. stem — a stem cell

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