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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 116 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: rock · chip · wind · lean · ground · cell · field · stand

  1. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  2. I can't ________________ this cold.
  3. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  10. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  11. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  15. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  16. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  17. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  18. There's no middle ________________.
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  22. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to bend
  2. stand — to bear
  3. rock — a stone
  4. field — a subject
  5. wind — moving air
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. chip — for betting
  8. cell — a phone
  9. lean — to rest against
  10. chip — to eat
  11. chip — in a computer
  12. field — farmland
  13. field — for sport
  14. lean — thin
  15. stand — on your feet
  16. rock — to move gently
  17. rock — music
  18. ground — a position
  19. cell — in biology
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. ground — the earth
  22. ground — crushed
  23. wind — moving air
  24. stand — for spectators

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