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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. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  4. The light ________________ burned out.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  8. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  9. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  12. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  13. Where did you ________________ them?
  14. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  15. I've got to change the light ________________.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  18. It's one o'clock ________________.
  19. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  22. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  23. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  24. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — with an edge
  2. field — farmland
  3. bulb — of a plant
  4. bulb — for light
  5. tear — from crying
  6. field — for sport
  7. lean — thin
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. mug — a cup
  10. field — a subject
  11. lean — to rest against
  12. lean — to bend
  13. mug — to rob
  14. mug — a face
  15. bulb — for light
  16. tear — to rip
  17. perch — the fish
  18. sharp — exactly
  19. fork — a garden tool
  20. tear — from crying
  21. sharp — clever
  22. fork — to eat with
  23. fork — in a road
  24. perch — for a bird

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