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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 are growing on this ________________.
  2. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  3. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  4. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  7. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  8. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  9. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. That was ________________ to happen.
  14. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  17. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  18. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  19. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  20. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  21. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  22. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  23. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  24. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. toast — a drink to someone
  3. current — of water
  4. bound — tied together
  5. file — a document
  6. lean — to rest against
  7. perch — the fish
  8. current — happening now
  9. bound — obliged
  10. file — a tool
  11. file — a line of people
  12. field — for sport
  13. bound — certain
  14. toast — the most admired
  15. field — a subject
  16. toast — bread
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. lean — to bend
  19. lean — thin
  20. stick — to attach or keep to
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. stick — a piece of wood
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  24. current — electric

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