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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. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  3. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  4. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  5. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  6. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  12. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  13. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  16. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  17. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  20. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  21. I'll be taking the ________________.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. It's one o'clock ________________.
  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. lean — to bend
  2. tube — in a tire
  3. sharp — with an edge
  4. lean — thin
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. rest — what's left
  7. shower — rain
  8. sharp — clever
  9. field — for sport
  10. field — farmland
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. trunk — of a tree
  13. trunk — of a car
  14. shower — to wash
  15. rest — a break
  16. trunk — of an elephant
  17. rest — what's left
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. perch — the fish
  20. tube — a container
  21. tube — the underground
  22. field — a subject
  23. sharp — exactly
  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