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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 120 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. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  2. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  3. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  4. The ________________ took off on time.
  5. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  6. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  7. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  8. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  9. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  10. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  11. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  12. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  13. It's one o'clock ________________.
  14. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  15. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. The King held a masked ________________.
  21. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  24. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — to turn a key
  2. lean — to bend
  3. cap — of ice
  4. plane — an aircraft
  5. prune — to trim
  6. ball — a round shape
  7. cap — a lid
  8. sharp — clever
  9. prune — to trim
  10. ball — a great time
  11. lean — thin
  12. cap — a hat
  13. sharp — exactly
  14. plane — a tool
  15. lean — to rest against
  16. field — a subject
  17. field — for sport
  18. field — farmland
  19. wind — moving air
  20. ball — a dance
  21. prune — the fruit
  22. wind — moving air
  23. sharp — with an edge
  24. plane — in geometry

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