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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. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  3. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  4. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  5. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  6. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  7. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  8. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  9. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  10. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  11. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  14. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  15. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  16. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  17. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  18. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  19. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  24. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to bend
  2. drill — a practice
  3. trunk — of a car
  4. lean — to rest against
  5. wake — a trail
  6. drill — the tool
  7. trunk — of a tree
  8. wake — before a funeral
  9. wake — to stop sleeping
  10. trunk — of an elephant
  11. lean — thin
  12. field — farmland
  13. snap — to click
  14. chair — a professorship
  15. bass — the fish
  16. bass — low music
  17. snap — to snap out of it
  18. chair — a leader
  19. drill — army training
  20. field — a subject
  21. snap — to speak sharply
  22. field — for sport
  23. bass — the instrument
  24. chair — to sit on

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