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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. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  3. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  4. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  8. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  11. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  15. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  16. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  21. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  22. Did you ________________ the button?
  23. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. lie — to recline
  3. kick — in football
  4. lean — to rest against
  5. spring — a coil
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. root — of a plant
  8. kick — with a leg
  9. field — for sport
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. press — a publisher
  12. field — a subject
  13. field — farmland
  14. kick — a thrill
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. lean — thin
  17. spring — the season
  18. lean — to bend
  19. bat — the animal
  20. root — the cause
  21. root — of a word
  22. press — to push
  23. press — newspapers
  24. bat — for baseball

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