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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. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  5. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  6. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  10. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  11. We're almost out of ________________.
  12. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  13. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  16. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  19. It's one o'clock ________________.
  20. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  21. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  22. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  23. You don't need to ________________ round.
  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. sharp — clever
  2. field — for sport
  3. spring — the season
  4. lean — thin
  5. lean — to rest against
  6. lean — to bend
  7. spring — of water
  8. field — a subject
  9. sharp — with an edge
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. pop — soda
  12. pop — music
  13. present — the time now
  14. spring — a coil
  15. present — a gift
  16. stick — to attach or keep to
  17. field — farmland
  18. stick — a piece of wood
  19. sharp — exactly
  20. chair — a professorship
  21. present — there
  22. chair — a leader
  23. pop — to visit
  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