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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. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  4. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  5. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  8. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  9. Have you met the new head ________________?
  10. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  11. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  12. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  13. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  14. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  15. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  16. The ________________ went through the wall.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. Did you ________________ the meat?
  19. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  20. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. There's a computer ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to bend
  2. cell — a phone
  3. chip — to eat
  4. foot — part of the body
  5. season — in sport
  6. cell — in biology
  7. foot — a measure
  8. season — of the year
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. chip — for betting
  11. nail — on a finger
  12. foot — the bottom
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. lean — to rest against
  15. lean — thin
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. file — a line of people
  18. season — to add flavour
  19. coach — pulled by horses
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. file — a tool
  23. file — a document
  24. chip — in a computer

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