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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. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  4. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  5. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. We're almost out of ________________.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. You don't need to ________________ round.
  13. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  14. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  15. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  18. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  19. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  20. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  23. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  24. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to bend
  2. spring — the season
  3. lean — to rest against
  4. leaves — to go away
  5. vault — in gymnastics
  6. shower — rain
  7. trunk — of a tree
  8. shower — to wash
  9. spring — of water
  10. pop — soda
  11. spring — a coil
  12. pop — to visit
  13. leaves — of a tree
  14. vault — a safe
  15. lean — thin
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. pop — music
  18. row — a quarrel
  19. trunk — of an elephant
  20. trunk — of a car
  21. row — to paddle
  22. leaves — lets stay
  23. vault — an arched ceiling
  24. row — a line

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