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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. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  2. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  3. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  7. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  8. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  9. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  10. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. I've got to change the light ________________.
  13. How do you ________________ your surname?
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  16. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  17. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  20. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  21. The light ________________ burned out.
  22. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  23. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  24. The train ________________ at six o'clock.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to bend
  2. kick — with a leg
  3. spell — magic
  4. field — a subject
  5. race — a contest
  6. branch — of a tree
  7. lean — thin
  8. leaves — lets stay
  9. leaves — of a tree
  10. kick — a thrill
  11. field — for sport
  12. bulb — for light
  13. spell — letters
  14. race — the arms race
  15. kick — in football
  16. branch — a division
  17. race — humankind
  18. field — farmland
  19. bulb — of a plant
  20. lean — to rest against
  21. bulb — for light
  22. branch — of a bank
  23. spell — a short time
  24. leaves — to go away

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