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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. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  3. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  4. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  7. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. There's no middle ________________.
  15. She's very handy with a ________________.
  16. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. He works in a ________________ mill.
  19. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  20. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  21. I've got to change the light ________________.
  22. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  23. The light ________________ burned out.
  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 — to bend
  2. track — to keep track
  3. stem — to come from
  4. bulb — of a plant
  5. race — a contest
  6. stem — a stem cell
  7. lean — thin
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. track — a song
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. ground — the earth
  12. race — humankind
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. ground — a position
  15. saw — the tool
  16. lean — to rest against
  17. race — the arms race
  18. saw — the tool
  19. saw — past of 'see'
  20. track — a path
  21. bulb — for light
  22. ground — crushed
  23. bulb — for light
  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