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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. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  3. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  4. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  9. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  10. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  11. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  12. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  13. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  16. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  17. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  18. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  19. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  20. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  21. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  22. How do you ________________ your surname?
  23. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  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. fan — a supporter
  3. spell — a short time
  4. leaves — lets stay
  5. cold — not warm
  6. rule — a law
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. fan — to cool the air
  9. leaves — to go away
  10. dip — to dunk
  11. spell — magic
  12. root — of a word
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. cold — an illness
  15. lean — to rest against
  16. rule — government
  17. root — of a plant
  18. root — the cause
  19. dip — to sink
  20. leaves — of a tree
  21. rule — to rule out
  22. spell — letters
  23. dip — a sauce
  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