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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. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  2. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  7. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  8. You don't need to ________________ round.
  9. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  10. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  11. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  14. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  15. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  16. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  17. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  18. He is an ace ________________.
  19. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  20. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  24. We're almost out of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to bend
  2. snap — to snap out of it
  3. shower — to wash
  4. spring — a coil
  5. spring — the season
  6. lean — to rest against
  7. root — the cause
  8. pop — to visit
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. root — of a plant
  11. wax — to grow
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. lean — thin
  14. wax — in the ear
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. snap — to speak sharply
  17. root — of a word
  18. pitcher — in baseball
  19. snap — to click
  20. pop — music
  21. shower — rain
  22. spring — of water
  23. wax — for sculpting
  24. pop — soda

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