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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 office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  3. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  4. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  7. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  10. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  13. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  14. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  17. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  18. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  22. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  23. Have you found your soul ________________?
  24. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to bend
  2. staff — employees
  3. mate — a friend
  4. lean — to rest against
  5. field — a subject
  6. deal — an agreement
  7. chip — for betting
  8. field — farmland
  9. chip — to eat
  10. staff — employees
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. drill — army training
  13. chip — in a computer
  14. deal — to handle
  15. field — for sport
  16. deal — a big deal
  17. staff — a stick
  18. drill — a practice
  19. shower — to wash
  20. shower — rain
  21. lean — thin
  22. mate — to breed
  23. mate — a partner
  24. drill — the tool

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