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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. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  2. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  3. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  4. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  5. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  6. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  7. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  8. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  9. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  10. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  11. My mare is ________________ in color.
  12. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  13. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  18. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  19. It's one o'clock ________________.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  22. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — a loud noise
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. cap — of ice
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. lean — to bend
  6. cap — a lid
  7. bay — to keep at bay
  8. wake — to stop sleeping
  9. sharp — with an edge
  10. wake — a trail
  11. bay — a horse colour
  12. lean — to rest against
  13. wake — before a funeral
  14. file — a tool
  15. field — a subject
  16. field — for sport
  17. sharp — clever
  18. lean — thin
  19. sharp — exactly
  20. file — a document
  21. cap — a hat
  22. bay — a part of the sea
  23. field — farmland
  24. file — a line of people

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