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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. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  5. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  8. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  9. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  12. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  13. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  14. There's no middle ________________.
  15. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  16. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  17. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  18. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  19. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  20. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  21. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to bend
  2. prune — to trim
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. squash — to crush
  5. ruler — for measuring
  6. spring — the season
  7. lean — to rest against
  8. lean — thin
  9. ruler — for measuring
  10. spring — a coil
  11. squash — the sport
  12. present — there
  13. present — a gift
  14. ground — a position
  15. squash — the vegetable
  16. kick — a thrill
  17. kick — with a leg
  18. present — the time now
  19. ground — crushed
  20. ruler — a monarch
  21. prune — to trim
  22. spring — of water
  23. kick — in football
  24. ground — the earth

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