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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. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  2. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  3. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  10. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  11. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  12. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  13. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  16. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  17. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  18. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  21. Did you ________________ the meat?
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. can — to be able to
  2. file — a line of people
  3. can — a tin
  4. hand — help
  5. file — a document
  6. hand — in cards
  7. wax — for sculpting
  8. file — a tool
  9. lean — thin
  10. can — a tin
  11. jam — a tight spot
  12. season — of the year
  13. wax — in the ear
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. lean — to bend
  16. season — in sport
  17. lean — to rest against
  18. jam — to spread on bread
  19. field — a subject
  20. wax — to grow
  21. season — to add flavour
  22. field — for sport
  23. jam — in traffic
  24. field — farmland

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