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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. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  2. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  4. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  7. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  8. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  9. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  10. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  11. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  12. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  17. Don't do anything ________________.
  18. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  21. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — thin
  2. stem — to come from
  3. lean — to rest against
  4. snap — to speak sharply
  5. race — a contest
  6. foot — the bottom
  7. trunk — of a car
  8. rash — a series
  9. rash — on the skin
  10. trunk — of an elephant
  11. trunk — of a tree
  12. foot — part of the body
  13. race — the arms race
  14. snap — to click
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. foot — a measure
  17. rash — hasty
  18. stem — a stem cell
  19. field — for sport
  20. lean — to bend
  21. race — humankind
  22. field — a subject
  23. field — farmland
  24. stem — of a plant

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