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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. Where did you ________________ them?
  2. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  3. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  4. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  7. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  8. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  9. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  10. There's no middle ________________.
  11. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  14. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  18. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  19. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  22. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — to rob
  2. lean — to bend
  3. lean — thin
  4. pass — to succeed
  5. spring — the season
  6. ground — the earth
  7. mug — a cup
  8. branch — of a bank
  9. prune — the fruit
  10. ground — a position
  11. branch — a division
  12. spring — of water
  13. mug — a face
  14. ground — crushed
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. hand — help
  17. branch — of a tree
  18. pass — a permit
  19. lean — to rest against
  20. spring — a coil
  21. pass — to spend time
  22. prune — to trim
  23. hand — in cards
  24. prune — to trim

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