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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. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  2. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  3. It's one o'clock ________________.
  4. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  8. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  9. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  10. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  11. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  14. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  15. The King held a masked ________________.
  16. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  17. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  18. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  19. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  20. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  21. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  24. He's quite ________________, isn't he?

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to rest against
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. sharp — exactly
  4. stem — of a plant
  5. degree — from a university
  6. race — a contest
  7. stem — a stem cell
  8. perch — the fish
  9. ball — a round shape
  10. lean — thin
  11. lean — to bend
  12. degree — an amount
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. stem — to come from
  15. ball — a dance
  16. sharp — with an edge
  17. race — humankind
  18. patient — calm and waiting
  19. race — the arms race
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. degree — temperature
  23. ball — a great time
  24. sharp — clever

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