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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.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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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. Have you settled on a ________________?
  3. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  4. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  7. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  8. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  11. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  12. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  13. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  16. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  19. He is an ace ________________.
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  24. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to bend
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. bowl — a football final
  4. lean — to rest against
  5. cell — a phone
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. lean — thin
  8. bowl — to roll
  9. degree — from a university
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. date — the fruit
  12. snap — to click
  13. bowl — a dish
  14. degree — temperature
  15. stick — to attach or keep to
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. cell — in biology
  18. snap — to speak sharply
  19. pitcher — in baseball
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. stick — a piece of wood
  22. degree — an amount
  23. snap — to snap out of it
  24. pitcher — a jug

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