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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. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  2. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  3. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  4. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  5. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  6. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. She's very handy with a ________________.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  15. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  16. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  17. He works in a ________________ mill.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  22. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  23. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  24. ________________ games are popular in Germany.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to bend
  2. saw — past of 'see'
  3. trunk — of a car
  4. bass — low music
  5. trunk — of a tree
  6. lean — thin
  7. last — to go on
  8. bat — the animal
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. saw — the tool
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. trunk — of an elephant
  13. last — final
  14. lean — to rest against
  15. bass — the instrument
  16. bass — the fish
  17. saw — the tool
  18. last — finally
  19. board — a committee
  20. net — for catching
  21. net — in sport
  22. net — after costs
  23. board — to get on
  24. board — a flat piece

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