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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.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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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: rash · lean · trunk · calf · spring · cold · field · toast

  1. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  2. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  3. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  8. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  9. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  13. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  14. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  15. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  21. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  22. Don't do anything ________________.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to bend
  2. rash — a series
  3. lean — to rest against
  4. field — a subject
  5. toast — a drink to someone
  6. spring — a coil
  7. toast — the most admired
  8. toast — bread
  9. trunk — of a tree
  10. field — farmland
  11. cold — an illness
  12. trunk — of a car
  13. trunk — of an elephant
  14. lean — thin
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. spring — of water
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. cold — not warm
  19. field — for sport
  20. calf — of the leg
  21. rash — on the skin
  22. rash — hasty
  23. spring — the season
  24. cold — the Cold War

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