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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. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  3. Don't do anything ________________.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  12. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  13. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  14. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  15. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  16. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  20. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  23. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  24. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to bend
  2. rash — on the skin
  3. rash — hasty
  4. capital — money
  5. land — to come down
  6. capital — a city
  7. trunk — of a tree
  8. land — ground
  9. foot — a measure
  10. cold — not warm
  11. lean — to rest against
  12. trunk — of an elephant
  13. foot — the bottom
  14. drill — army training
  15. drill — a practice
  16. lean — thin
  17. land — a country
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. rash — a series
  20. foot — part of the body
  21. cold — an illness
  22. drill — the tool
  23. trunk — of a car
  24. capital — a big letter

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