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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. What do you think of the new ________________?
  3. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  4. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  7. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  8. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  9. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  10. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  11. This piece is in a major ________________.
  12. I can't ________________ this cold.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  16. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  20. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  21. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  22. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to bend
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. stand — on your feet
  4. cabinet — a cupboard
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. lean — thin
  7. lean — to rest against
  8. cabinet — ministers
  9. stand — for spectators
  10. current — happening now
  11. key — in music
  12. stand — to bear
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. cold — not warm
  15. stem — to come from
  16. stem — of a plant
  17. shower — to wash
  18. cold — an illness
  19. current — electric
  20. key — for a lock
  21. key — the most important part
  22. current — of water
  23. shower — rain
  24. stem — a stem cell

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