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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 124 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. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  3. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  4. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  14. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  15. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. This piece is in a major ________________.
  18. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  19. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  20. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  21. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  22. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  23. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  24. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to bend
  2. lean — to rest against
  3. chip — in a computer
  4. chip — to eat
  5. field — for sport
  6. tear — from crying
  7. key — for a lock
  8. tear — to rip
  9. chair — a leader
  10. field — farmland
  11. snap — to snap out of it
  12. tear — from crying
  13. snap — to click
  14. key — the most important part
  15. deal — to handle
  16. field — a subject
  17. key — in music
  18. deal — a big deal
  19. snap — to speak sharply
  20. chip — for betting
  21. lean — thin
  22. deal — an agreement
  23. chair — to sit on
  24. chair — a professorship

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