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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. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  3. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  4. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  11. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  12. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  15. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  16. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  17. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  22. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  23. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  24. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. chest — a box
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. cue — a signal
  5. field — for sport
  6. pit — a hole
  7. band — a music group
  8. band — a ring
  9. last — to go on
  10. stick — to attach or keep to
  11. cue — a hint
  12. lean — to bend
  13. last — finally
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. chest — of your body
  16. lean — thin
  17. pit — a fruit stone
  18. chest — of your body
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. field — a subject
  21. cue — for pool
  22. pit — in a race
  23. lean — to rest against
  24. last — final

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