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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 116 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. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  2. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  3. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  4. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  5. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  6. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  10. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  13. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  14. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  15. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  16. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. It's one o'clock ________________.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  24. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. trunk — of an elephant
  3. trunk — of a car
  4. rock — to move gently
  5. sharp — with an edge
  6. lean — to rest against
  7. ground — a position
  8. field — for sport
  9. rock — a stone
  10. staff — a stick
  11. field — a subject
  12. staff — employees
  13. ground — crushed
  14. ground — the earth
  15. lean — thin
  16. rock — music
  17. clip — to cut
  18. sharp — exactly
  19. clip — for paper
  20. clip — a video
  21. trunk — of a tree
  22. field — farmland
  23. sharp — clever
  24. lean — to bend

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