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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. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  3. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  4. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  5. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  6. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  7. Have you met the new head ________________?
  8. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  9. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  13. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  14. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  15. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  18. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  19. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. My father caught me by the ________________.
  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. mine — for digging
  2. track — a path
  3. lie — to recline
  4. lean — to bend
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. stem — to come from
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. lie — an untruth
  9. track — to keep track
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. lie — an untruth
  13. arm — a part of something
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. lean — thin
  16. cold — not warm
  17. stem — of a plant
  18. track — a song
  19. stem — a stem cell
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. coach — pulled by horses
  22. cold — an illness
  23. arm — part of the body
  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