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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. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. I'll be taking the ________________.
  4. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  5. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  13. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  14. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  15. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  21. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  22. The ________________ took off on time.
  23. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  24. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to bend
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. tube — the underground
  4. rest — what's left
  5. tube — in a tire
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. lean — thin
  8. bat — the animal
  9. field — farmland
  10. club — for golf
  11. chest — a box
  12. rest — a break
  13. lean — to rest against
  14. club — for dancing
  15. plane — in geometry
  16. field — for sport
  17. club — a group
  18. chest — of your body
  19. field — a subject
  20. plane — a tool
  21. tube — a container
  22. plane — an aircraft
  23. chest — of your body
  24. rest — what's left

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