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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. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  3. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  8. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  9. Where did you ________________ them?
  10. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  11. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  14. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  15. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  16. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  17. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  18. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to bend
  2. craft — a handicraft
  3. rest — a break
  4. snap — to click
  5. ground — a position
  6. spring — the season
  7. rest — what's left
  8. craft — a skill
  9. mug — to rob
  10. rest — what's left
  11. craft — boats
  12. spring — a coil
  13. lean — thin
  14. ground — crushed
  15. lean — to rest against
  16. mug — a face
  17. mug — a cup
  18. snap — to speak sharply
  19. clip — a video
  20. snap — to snap out of it
  21. clip — for paper
  22. clip — to cut
  23. ground — the earth
  24. spring — of water

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