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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. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  5. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  12. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  13. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  14. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  15. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  16. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  20. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  21. My father caught me by the ________________.
  22. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  23. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  24. The players ran onto the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. spring — the season
  3. spring — of water
  4. wound — past of 'wind'
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. wound — an injury
  7. rock — a stone
  8. wound — an injury
  9. lean — to bend
  10. cell — in biology
  11. pitch — a sales talk
  12. root — the cause
  13. pitch — completely
  14. root — of a plant
  15. rock — to move gently
  16. arm — a part of something
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. spring — a coil
  19. cell — a phone
  20. lean — thin
  21. arm — part of the body
  22. lean — to rest against
  23. root — of a word
  24. pitch — a sports field

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