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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. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  3. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  4. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  5. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  6. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  9. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  10. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  19. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  20. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  21. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  22. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  23. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  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. wake — to stop sleeping
  3. scale — size or range
  4. scale — for weighing
  5. deal — an agreement
  6. deal — to handle
  7. spring — of water
  8. prune — to trim
  9. lean — to rest against
  10. perch — the fish
  11. spring — a coil
  12. wake — before a funeral
  13. spring — the season
  14. deal — a big deal
  15. capital — money
  16. scale — in music
  17. capital — a city
  18. prune — to trim
  19. prune — the fruit
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. lean — thin
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. wake — a trail
  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