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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. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  2. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  3. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  4. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  5. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  6. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  11. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  14. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  15. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  16. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  19. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  20. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  21. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  24. I'd like to play a game of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to bend
  2. present — there
  3. kick — in football
  4. squash — the vegetable
  5. squash — to crush
  6. dip — to dunk
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. field — for sport
  9. mine — for digging
  10. scale — size or range
  11. scale — for weighing
  12. field — a subject
  13. scale — in music
  14. kick — a thrill
  15. present — the time now
  16. dip — a sauce
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. present — a gift
  19. lean — thin
  20. lean — to rest against
  21. dip — to sink
  22. field — farmland
  23. kick — with a leg
  24. squash — the sport

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