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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. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  3. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  4. That must've been a ________________.
  5. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  8. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  9. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  10. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  11. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  12. Did you ________________ the meat?
  13. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  14. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  15. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  16. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  17. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  18. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  19. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  20. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  21. Have you found your soul ________________?
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  24. He had ________________ pain while walking.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to bend
  2. rush — to hurry
  3. season — in sport
  4. rush — a thrill
  5. drill — a practice
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. season — of the year
  8. mate — to breed
  9. row — to paddle
  10. mate — a friend
  11. drill — army training
  12. season — to add flavour
  13. calf — a young animal
  14. rush — hurry
  15. race — humankind
  16. drill — the tool
  17. row — a line
  18. lean — to rest against
  19. lean — thin
  20. race — a contest
  21. mate — a partner
  22. race — the arms race
  23. calf — a young animal
  24. calf — of the leg

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