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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. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  2. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  3. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  4. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  7. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  8. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  11. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  12. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  13. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  14. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  15. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  16. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  22. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  23. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to rest against
  2. fine — high quality
  3. lean — to bend
  4. can — a tin
  5. field — for sport
  6. can — a tin
  7. lean — thin
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. chest — of your body
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. fine — all right
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. fine — a penalty
  14. bass — the fish
  15. stick — to attach or keep to
  16. fan — to cool the air
  17. chest — of your body
  18. bass — the instrument
  19. field — farmland
  20. field — a subject
  21. bass — low music
  22. can — to be able to
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  24. chest — a box

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