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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. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  2. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  3. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  6. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  9. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  14. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  15. He works in a ________________ mill.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  20. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  21. She's very handy with a ________________.
  22. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  23. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — past of 'see'
  2. shower — rain
  3. lean — to bend
  4. field — a subject
  5. cap — of ice
  6. cap — a hat
  7. shower — to wash
  8. prune — to trim
  9. lean — to rest against
  10. field — farmland
  11. fall — to drop
  12. prune — to trim
  13. lean — thin
  14. fall — to drop
  15. saw — the tool
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. content — the amount
  18. field — for sport
  19. content — happy
  20. prune — the fruit
  21. saw — the tool
  22. fall — the season
  23. cap — a lid
  24. content — videos and posts

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