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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. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. I can't ________________ this cold.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  6. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  7. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  8. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  9. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  10. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  11. The King held a masked ________________.
  12. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  13. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  14. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  15. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  16. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  19. It's one o'clock ________________.
  20. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to speak sharply
  2. field — for sport
  3. stand — to bear
  4. field — farmland
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. lean — to rest against
  7. sharp — with an edge
  8. snap — to snap out of it
  9. ball — a round shape
  10. sharp — clever
  11. ball — a dance
  12. stand — on your feet
  13. lean — to bend
  14. snap — to click
  15. perch — the fish
  16. lean — thin
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. sharp — exactly
  20. ball — a great time
  21. kid — to tease
  22. stand — for spectators
  23. field — a subject
  24. kid — child

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