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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. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  7. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  8. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. There's no middle ________________.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. Have you settled on a ________________?
  13. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  14. This piece is in a major ________________.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  18. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  19. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  20. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  21. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  24. 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. date — on the calendar
  2. field — for sport
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. row — a line
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. leaves — of a tree
  7. leaves — to go away
  8. lean — to bend
  9. field — farmland
  10. ground — a position
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. leaves — lets stay
  14. key — in music
  15. field — a subject
  16. row — to paddle
  17. lean — thin
  18. key — the most important part
  19. ground — the earth
  20. date — the fruit
  21. ground — crushed
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. key — for a lock
  24. 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