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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. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  2. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  3. When will it ________________ you to start?
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  7. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  8. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  12. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  13. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  14. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  15. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  16. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  19. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  20. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  21. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. Have you found your soul ________________?
  24. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to rest against
  2. mate — a friend
  3. suit — to fit
  4. field — a subject
  5. cold — not warm
  6. fork — a garden tool
  7. mate — to breed
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. field — farmland
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. drill — the tool
  12. fork — to eat with
  13. drill — army training
  14. lean — thin
  15. fork — in a road
  16. suit — clothes
  17. field — for sport
  18. drill — a practice
  19. suit — in cards
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. lean — to bend
  22. cold — an illness
  23. mate — a partner
  24. perch — the fish

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