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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 120 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 slowly ________________ towards the light.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  4. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  5. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  6. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  7. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  8. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  9. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  10. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  23. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  24. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to bend
  2. cold — an illness
  3. lean — thin
  4. leaves — to go away
  5. lean — to rest against
  6. present — the time now
  7. leaves — lets stay
  8. foot — part of the body
  9. present — there
  10. foot — a measure
  11. game — wild animals
  12. file — a line of people
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. leaves — of a tree
  15. file — a tool
  16. cold — not warm
  17. bass — the instrument
  18. file — a document
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. bass — the fish
  21. game — a match
  22. present — a gift
  23. bass — low music
  24. foot — the bottom

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