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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 116 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. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  4. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  5. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  8. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  9. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  10. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. This piece is in a major ________________.
  15. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  18. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  19. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  20. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  21. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to bend
  2. field — farmland
  3. pound — a weight
  4. branch — a division
  5. pound — for dogs
  6. shower — rain
  7. key — the most important part
  8. rest — a break
  9. rest — what's left
  10. key — for a lock
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. field — for sport
  13. shower — to wash
  14. key — in music
  15. pound — to hit hard
  16. field — a subject
  17. content — happy
  18. lean — thin
  19. rest — what's left
  20. branch — of a bank
  21. branch — of a tree
  22. content — the amount
  23. lean — to rest against
  24. content — videos and posts

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