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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. He is an ace ________________.
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  6. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  7. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  8. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  11. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. There's no middle ________________.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  16. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  17. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  18. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  19. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  23. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to bend
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. ground — the earth
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. jam — in traffic
  8. lean — to rest against
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. lean — thin
  12. field — a subject
  13. ground — a position
  14. field — farmland
  15. jam — a tight spot
  16. lash — a whip stroke
  17. ground — crushed
  18. bark — a dog's sound
  19. lash — to lash out
  20. field — for sport
  21. bark — to shout
  22. jam — to spread on bread
  23. lash — an eyelash
  24. bat — the animal

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