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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. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  3. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  4. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  5. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  6. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  7. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  8. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  9. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  10. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. I'll be taking the ________________.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  24. Many English words ________________ from Latin.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to bend
  2. lean — to rest against
  3. snap — to snap out of it
  4. stem — of a plant
  5. foot — a measure
  6. snap — to speak sharply
  7. foot — part of the body
  8. tube — a container
  9. stem — a stem cell
  10. foot — the bottom
  11. march — the month
  12. lean — thin
  13. kid — to tease
  14. tube — in a tire
  15. march — music
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. mine — for digging
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. tube — the underground
  20. kid — child
  21. march — the month
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. snap — to click
  24. stem — to come from

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