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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. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  2. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  3. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  6. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  7. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  8. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  13. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  14. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  17. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  20. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  23. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  24. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?

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

Answer key

  1. rock — to move gently
  2. lean — thin
  3. lean — to bend
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. bark — of a tree
  7. bass — the fish
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. field — farmland
  10. bass — the instrument
  11. content — the amount
  12. snap — to snap out of it
  13. bass — low music
  14. snap — to speak sharply
  15. field — a subject
  16. rock — a stone
  17. racket — a loud noise
  18. field — for sport
  19. bark — a dog's sound
  20. snap — to click
  21. content — happy
  22. lean — to rest against
  23. bark — to shout
  24. rock — music

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