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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. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  3. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  4. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  5. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  6. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  7. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  8. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  9. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. Did you ________________ the meat?
  13. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  14. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  24. I've got the luggage in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to bend
  2. present — the time now
  3. trunk — of a tree
  4. pound — a weight
  5. present — there
  6. pound — for dogs
  7. trunk — of an elephant
  8. season — in sport
  9. lean — thin
  10. mine — for digging
  11. degree — an amount
  12. season — to add flavour
  13. season — of the year
  14. mine — an explosive
  15. capital — money
  16. capital — a city
  17. degree — from a university
  18. lean — to rest against
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. present — a gift
  22. degree — temperature
  23. pound — to hit hard
  24. trunk — of a car

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