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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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. This piece is in a major ________________.
  4. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  5. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  6. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  10. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  13. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  19. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  20. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  21. I'll be taking the ________________.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  24. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to bend
  2. kid — to tease
  3. key — in music
  4. tube — a container
  5. leaves — of a tree
  6. tube — in a tire
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. key — for a lock
  10. dip — to sink
  11. kid — child
  12. dip — to dunk
  13. leaves — to go away
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. spring — the season
  16. leaves — lets stay
  17. spring — of water
  18. bark — to shout
  19. lean — thin
  20. dip — a sauce
  21. tube — the underground
  22. spring — a coil
  23. key — the most important part
  24. lean — to rest against

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