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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. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  2. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. Where did you ________________ them?
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. There's no middle ________________.
  11. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  14. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  19. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  22. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  23. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  24. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — thin
  2. lean — to bend
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. mug — a face
  5. capital — a city
  6. tear — to rip
  7. mug — to rob
  8. capital — money
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. ground — a position
  11. stem — to come from
  12. wind — moving air
  13. stem — a stem cell
  14. ground — the earth
  15. tear — from crying
  16. rule — government
  17. wind — moving air
  18. rule — a law
  19. lean — to rest against
  20. tear — from crying
  21. rule — to rule out
  22. ground — crushed
  23. mug — a cup
  24. stem — of a plant

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