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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 is as ________________ as a wolf.
  2. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  3. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  4. It's one o'clock ________________.
  5. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  6. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  12. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  13. I've got to change the light ________________.
  14. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  15. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  16. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  17. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  18. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  19. The light ________________ burned out.
  20. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  21. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  24. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — thin
  2. leaves — to go away
  3. lean — to bend
  4. sharp — exactly
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. bulb — of a plant
  7. cold — an illness
  8. cold — not warm
  9. land — a country
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. lean — to rest against
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. bulb — for light
  14. calf — a young animal
  15. patient — calm and waiting
  16. sharp — clever
  17. leaves — of a tree
  18. sharp — with an edge
  19. bulb — for light
  20. leaves — lets stay
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. land — to come down
  23. calf — of the leg
  24. land — ground

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