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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. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  4. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  5. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  6. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  7. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  8. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  9. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  10. He is an ace ________________.
  11. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. Where did you ________________ them?
  14. How do you ________________ your surname?
  15. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  16. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  17. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  18. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  21. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  22. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  23. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  24. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to bend
  2. wind — moving air
  3. branch — of a tree
  4. spell — magic
  5. branch — a division
  6. fine — all right
  7. fine — a penalty
  8. mug — a face
  9. lean — thin
  10. pitcher — in baseball
  11. mug — a cup
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. mug — to rob
  14. spell — letters
  15. spell — a short time
  16. lean — to rest against
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. fine — high quality
  19. wind — moving air
  20. chip — to eat
  21. chip — in a computer
  22. chip — for betting
  23. branch — of a bank
  24. pitcher — a jug

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