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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. Did you ________________ the meat?
  3. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  4. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  11. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  12. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  13. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  14. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  17. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  18. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  19. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  20. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  21. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  22. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. Spring is a pleasant ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to bend
  2. season — to add flavour
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. lean — to rest against
  5. field — for sport
  6. field — a subject
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. snap — to click
  9. kid — to tease
  10. fan — to cool the air
  11. lean — thin
  12. snap — to snap out of it
  13. mouse — the animal
  14. season — in sport
  15. field — farmland
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. snap — to speak sharply
  19. mouse — for a computer
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. perch — the fish
  22. mouse — the animal
  23. kid — child
  24. season — of the year

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