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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. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  5. She's very handy with a ________________.
  6. This piece is in a major ________________.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  9. He works in a ________________ mill.
  10. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  11. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  17. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  20. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  21. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  24. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to bend
  2. last — final
  3. field — a subject
  4. club — for golf
  5. saw — the tool
  6. key — in music
  7. field — for sport
  8. pass — to succeed
  9. saw — the tool
  10. key — the most important part
  11. pass — a permit
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. last — to go on
  14. club — for dancing
  15. last — finally
  16. club — a group
  17. lean — to rest against
  18. cell — in biology
  19. saw — past of 'see'
  20. lean — thin
  21. key — for a lock
  22. field — farmland
  23. cell — a phone
  24. pass — to spend time

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