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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. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. This piece is in a major ________________.
  21. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  22. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  23. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  24. Hard work is the ________________ to success.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to bend
  2. field — farmland
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. field — for sport
  6. prune — to trim
  7. cell — a phone
  8. lean — to rest against
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. prune — to trim
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. field — a subject
  13. mark — a grade
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. key — for a lock
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. lean — thin
  19. cell — in biology
  20. key — in music
  21. mine — for digging
  22. mark — to pay attention
  23. mark — a trace
  24. key — the most important part

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