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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. I can't ________________ this cold.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  5. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  6. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  11. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  12. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  13. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  14. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  15. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  16. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  19. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  20. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  23. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  24. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to bend
  2. stand — to bear
  3. spring — the season
  4. track — a path
  5. track — a song
  6. face — to point toward
  7. march — music
  8. march — the month
  9. spring — a coil
  10. lean — to rest against
  11. lean — thin
  12. stand — on your feet
  13. pit — in a race
  14. track — to keep track
  15. scale — size or range
  16. pit — a hole
  17. spring — of water
  18. face — part of the head
  19. scale — in music
  20. face — to confront
  21. march — the month
  22. scale — for weighing
  23. stand — for spectators
  24. pit — a fruit stone

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