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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. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  2. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  3. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  4. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  7. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  8. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  11. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  12. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  13. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  16. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  21. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  22. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  23. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to bend
  2. can — a tin
  3. dip — a sauce
  4. current — happening now
  5. field — for sport
  6. bark — a dog's sound
  7. lean — to rest against
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. field — farmland
  10. bark — of a tree
  11. fan — to cool the air
  12. can — a tin
  13. current — of water
  14. file — a document
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. current — electric
  17. field — a subject
  18. dip — to dunk
  19. file — a line of people
  20. bark — to shout
  21. lean — thin
  22. can — to be able to
  23. dip — to sink
  24. file — a tool

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