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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 120 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. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  2. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  3. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  7. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  8. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  9. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  10. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  13. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  18. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  19. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  20. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  21. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  22. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.

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

Answer key

  1. net — in sport
  2. lean — to bend
  3. perch — the fish
  4. field — for sport
  5. field — a subject
  6. lean — thin
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. chair — to sit on
  9. can — a tin
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. field — farmland
  12. can — a tin
  13. craft — a skill
  14. band — a music group
  15. chair — a professorship
  16. net — for catching
  17. chair — a leader
  18. craft — a handicraft
  19. net — after costs
  20. band — a ring
  21. can — to be able to
  22. craft — boats
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. lean — to rest against

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