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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. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  10. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  13. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  14. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  15. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  16. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  17. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  21. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  22. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. land — a country
  3. lean — to bend
  4. spell — letters
  5. band — a ring
  6. land — to come down
  7. vault — in gymnastics
  8. field — for sport
  9. rest — a break
  10. vault — an arched ceiling
  11. field — farmland
  12. rest — what's left
  13. spell — magic
  14. prune — the fruit
  15. lean — thin
  16. lean — to rest against
  17. vault — a safe
  18. field — a subject
  19. land — ground
  20. prune — to trim
  21. prune — to trim
  22. spell — a short time
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. band — a music group

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