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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. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  2. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. I'll be taking the ________________.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  13. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  21. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  22. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  23. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  24. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — thin
  2. tube — a container
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. tube — the underground
  5. field — for sport
  6. wind — moving air
  7. wind — moving air
  8. kid — to tease
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. trunk — of a car
  11. land — a country
  12. lean — to rest against
  13. lean — to bend
  14. field — farmland
  15. land — to come down
  16. trunk — of a tree
  17. kid — child
  18. craft — boats
  19. field — a subject
  20. craft — a handicraft
  21. tube — in a tire
  22. trunk — of an elephant
  23. craft — a skill
  24. land — ground

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