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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 124 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. I can't ________________ this cold.
  2. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  3. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  6. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  7. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  8. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  9. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  10. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  13. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  16. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  20. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  21. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  22. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  23. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stand — to bear
  2. pitch — a sports field
  3. object — to protest
  4. land — ground
  5. object — a thing
  6. face — to confront
  7. pitch — completely
  8. face — to point toward
  9. wax — to grow
  10. stand — for spectators
  11. land — a country
  12. face — part of the head
  13. pitch — a sales talk
  14. land — to come down
  15. object — an aim
  16. stand — on your feet
  17. spring — of water
  18. spring — a coil
  19. prune — to trim
  20. wax — for sculpting
  21. wax — in the ear
  22. prune — the fruit
  23. prune — to trim
  24. spring — the season

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