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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. When are we going to ________________?
  3. How do you ________________ your surname?
  4. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  5. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  6. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  7. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  8. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  9. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  10. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. What do you think of the new ________________?
  16. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  19. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  20. The ________________ went through the wall.
  21. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  22. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  23. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to bend
  2. land — to come down
  3. spell — letters
  4. cabinet — ministers
  5. craft — boats
  6. pitch — a sales talk
  7. spell — a short time
  8. pitch — a sports field
  9. cabinet — a cupboard
  10. lean — to rest against
  11. land — ground
  12. degree — an amount
  13. spell — magic
  14. degree — from a university
  15. cabinet — ministers
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. degree — temperature
  18. craft — a skill
  19. craft — a handicraft
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. nail — on a finger
  22. pitch — completely
  23. lean — thin
  24. land — a country

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