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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. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  6. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  7. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  10. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  11. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  14. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  15. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  16. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  17. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  18. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  19. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  20. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  21. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  22. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to bend
  2. present — a gift
  3. file — a tool
  4. file — a line of people
  5. club — for dancing
  6. rock — to move gently
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. kid — child
  9. board — a committee
  10. lean — to rest against
  11. club — for golf
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. board — to get on
  14. rock — a stone
  15. lean — thin
  16. board — a flat piece
  17. club — a group
  18. present — there
  19. perch — the fish
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. rock — music
  22. present — the time now
  23. file — a document
  24. kid — to tease

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