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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. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  3. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  4. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. I've got to change the light ________________.
  8. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. The light ________________ burned out.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  18. Did you ________________ the meat?
  19. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  22. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. He is as ________________ as a wolf.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to bend
  2. branch — of a tree
  3. bulb — of a plant
  4. rule — government
  5. cell — a phone
  6. cell — in biology
  7. bulb — for light
  8. season — of the year
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. last — final
  11. branch — a division
  12. march — the month
  13. bulb — for light
  14. last — finally
  15. season — in sport
  16. last — to go on
  17. rule — a law
  18. season — to add flavour
  19. rule — to rule out
  20. march — music
  21. lean — to rest against
  22. branch — of a bank
  23. march — the month
  24. lean — thin

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