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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 slowly ________________ towards the light.
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. She's very handy with a ________________.
  4. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. My mare is ________________ in color.
  7. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. He works in a ________________ mill.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  13. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  14. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  15. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  18. The ________________ took off on time.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  22. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  23. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  24. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to bend
  2. net — after costs
  3. saw — the tool
  4. lean — thin
  5. court — of law
  6. bay — a horse colour
  7. plane — in geometry
  8. net — in sport
  9. saw — the tool
  10. field — farmland
  11. court — for sport
  12. track — to keep track
  13. track — a path
  14. bay — to keep at bay
  15. bay — a part of the sea
  16. field — for sport
  17. saw — past of 'see'
  18. plane — an aircraft
  19. field — a subject
  20. court — of a king
  21. lean — to rest against
  22. net — for catching
  23. track — a song
  24. plane — a tool

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