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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. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  3. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  4. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  5. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  6. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  7. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. How do you ________________ your surname?
  13. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  16. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  17. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  18. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  19. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  20. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  21. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to bend
  2. bear — the animal
  3. deal — a big deal
  4. foot — a measure
  5. bear — to put up with
  6. lean — thin
  7. spell — a short time
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. deal — an agreement
  10. field — for sport
  11. field — farmland
  12. spell — letters
  13. spell — magic
  14. bat — the animal
  15. foot — part of the body
  16. foot — the bottom
  17. present — a gift
  18. deal — to handle
  19. present — there
  20. lean — to rest against
  21. present — the time now
  22. field — a subject
  23. bear — the animal
  24. bat — in an idiom

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