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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: prune · pit · lean · bat · lie · root · field · ruler

  1. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  2. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  3. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  4. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  7. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  10. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  13. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  14. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  15. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  16. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  17. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  20. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  23. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to bend
  2. pit — a fruit stone
  3. lean — thin
  4. prune — the fruit
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. ruler — for measuring
  7. ruler — a monarch
  8. field — a subject
  9. lie — an untruth
  10. ruler — for measuring
  11. field — for sport
  12. pit — a hole
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. root — the cause
  15. prune — to trim
  16. root — of a plant
  17. root — of a word
  18. bat — the animal
  19. lean — to rest against
  20. pit — in a race
  21. field — farmland
  22. prune — to trim
  23. lie — to recline
  24. bat — in an idiom

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