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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. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  3. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  4. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  12. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  15. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  16. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  17. He is an ace ________________.
  18. The ball is in your ________________.
  19. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — to move gently
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. snap — to speak sharply
  4. staff — employees
  5. wound — an injury
  6. court — of law
  7. snap — to click
  8. court — of a king
  9. rock — a stone
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. staff — a stick
  12. lean — thin
  13. wound — an injury
  14. rock — music
  15. lean — to bend
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. pitcher — in baseball
  18. court — for sport
  19. staff — employees
  20. field — for sport
  21. snap — to snap out of it
  22. field — a subject
  23. lean — to rest against
  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