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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 116 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. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  3. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  4. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  5. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  6. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  11. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. Have you met the new head ________________?
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  18. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  19. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  20. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  23. Where did you ________________ them?
  24. There's no middle ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to bend
  2. mug — a face
  3. pit — a hole
  4. lean — to rest against
  5. ground — the earth
  6. lean — thin
  7. ground — crushed
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. hand — in cards
  10. dip — a sauce
  11. mug — a cup
  12. cell — in biology
  13. cell — a phone
  14. hand — help
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. coach — pulled by horses
  18. dip — to dunk
  19. pit — a fruit stone
  20. dip — to sink
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. pit — in a race
  23. mug — to rob
  24. ground — a position

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