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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. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  2. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  3. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. She's very handy with a ________________.
  6. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  7. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  14. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  15. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  21. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  22. He works in a ________________ mill.
  23. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  24. I assure you, everything's ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to bend
  2. lie — an untruth
  3. lie — to recline
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. saw — the tool
  6. fine — high quality
  7. fine — a penalty
  8. degree — an amount
  9. degree — from a university
  10. field — a subject
  11. trunk — of a tree
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. trunk — of an elephant
  14. trunk — of a car
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. mine — for digging
  17. field — farmland
  18. field — for sport
  19. degree — temperature
  20. saw — past of 'see'
  21. lean — to rest against
  22. saw — the tool
  23. lean — thin
  24. fine — all right

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