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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. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  2. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  6. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  7. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  8. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  9. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  10. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  11. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  19. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  20. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  21. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  22. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  23. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  24. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in biology
  2. branch — a division
  3. ground — a position
  4. prune — to trim
  5. ground — crushed
  6. lean — to bend
  7. branch — of a tree
  8. prune — to trim
  9. bear — the animal
  10. scale — in music
  11. bear — to put up with
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. branch — of a bank
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. cell — a phone
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. lean — to rest against
  19. bear — the animal
  20. ground — the earth
  21. scale — for weighing
  22. prune — the fruit
  23. lean — thin
  24. scale — size or range

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