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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. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  2. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  3. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  4. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  7. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  8. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  9. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  10. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  11. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  14. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  19. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  20. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  23. Have you found your soul ________________?
  24. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to bend
  2. chest — a box
  3. face — to confront
  4. lean — thin
  5. chest — of your body
  6. bark — to shout
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. mate — to breed
  9. rock — music
  10. rock — a stone
  11. face — part of the head
  12. field — farmland
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. lean — to rest against
  15. field — a subject
  16. mate — a friend
  17. field — for sport
  18. bark — of a tree
  19. rock — to move gently
  20. stick — to attach or keep to
  21. chest — of your body
  22. bark — a dog's sound
  23. mate — a partner
  24. face — to point toward

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