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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. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  2. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  3. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  4. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. She's very handy with a ________________.
  7. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  8. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  11. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  12. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  13. He works in a ________________ mill.
  14. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  15. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  16. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — thin
  2. drill — a practice
  3. rock — a stone
  4. rock — music
  5. field — for sport
  6. saw — the tool
  7. drill — the tool
  8. lean — to bend
  9. field — farmland
  10. trunk — of an elephant
  11. trunk — of a car
  12. drill — army training
  13. saw — the tool
  14. rock — to move gently
  15. saw — past of 'see'
  16. trunk — of a tree
  17. field — a subject
  18. lean — to rest against

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