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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. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  2. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  3. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. Did you ________________ the meat?
  6. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  9. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  10. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  11. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  12. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  13. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  14. Have you settled on a ________________?
  15. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  16. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  20. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  24. Spring is a pleasant ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — thin
  2. lean — to bend
  3. bore — to drill
  4. spring — the season
  5. season — to add flavour
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. field — farmland
  8. bore — to tire
  9. wave — with your hand
  10. lean — to rest against
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. perch — the fish
  13. date — the fruit
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. wave — a sudden rise
  16. bore — gave birth
  17. spring — of water
  18. spring — a coil
  19. wave — of the sea
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. field — for sport
  22. field — a subject
  23. season — in sport
  24. season — of the year

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