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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 116 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. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. David sat on the ________________.
  4. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  7. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  8. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  9. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  10. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  15. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  18. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  22. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  23. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  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 — thin
  2. field — farmland
  3. swing — to play on
  4. branch — of a tree
  5. chair — a leader
  6. swing — music
  7. fine — a penalty
  8. lean — to bend
  9. fine — high quality
  10. scale — in music
  11. field — for sport
  12. chair — to sit on
  13. file — a line of people
  14. branch — of a bank
  15. scale — size or range
  16. file — a document
  17. swing — in golf
  18. chair — a professorship
  19. field — a subject
  20. file — a tool
  21. branch — a division
  22. fine — all right
  23. scale — for weighing
  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