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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. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. The tickets are free of ________________.
  7. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  8. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  9. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  10. My father caught me by the ________________.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  13. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  14. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  15. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  21. I'll be taking the ________________.
  22. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  23. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  24. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to bend
  2. field — for sport
  3. arm — a part of something
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. field — farmland
  6. charge — a price
  7. tube — a container
  8. charge — in control
  9. lean — thin
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. clip — to cut
  12. tube — in a tire
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. charge — electricity
  15. deal — to handle
  16. field — a subject
  17. clip — for paper
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. clip — a video
  20. deal — a big deal
  21. tube — the underground
  22. lean — to rest against
  23. deal — an agreement
  24. mine — for digging

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