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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. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  3. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  4. The King held a masked ________________.
  5. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  9. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  10. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  13. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  14. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  15. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  16. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  17. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  18. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  19. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  20. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  21. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  22. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  23. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  24. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to bend
  2. prune — the fruit
  3. pass — to succeed
  4. ball — a dance
  5. prune — to trim
  6. tear — from crying
  7. tear — from crying
  8. ball — a round shape
  9. patient — calm and waiting
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. tear — to rip
  12. present — the time now
  13. present — a gift
  14. prune — to trim
  15. lean — thin
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. mark — a trace
  18. present — there
  19. pass — a permit
  20. mark — to pay attention
  21. mark — a grade
  22. ball — a great time
  23. pass — to spend time
  24. lean — to rest against

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