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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. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  7. The ________________ took off on time.
  8. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  16. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  17. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  18. When was this ________________ built?
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  24. He is as ________________ as a wolf.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to bend
  2. stem — a stem cell
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. plane — in geometry
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. plane — a tool
  7. plane — an aircraft
  8. temple — side of the head
  9. march — the month
  10. chair — a professorship
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. chair — a leader
  13. kid — child
  14. march — the month
  15. stem — of a plant
  16. temple — a place of worship
  17. lean — to rest against
  18. temple — a place of worship
  19. march — music
  20. kid — to tease
  21. stem — to come from
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. chair — to sit on
  24. lean — thin

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