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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 116 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. That was a fun ________________.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  5. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  6. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  7. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. Where did you ________________ them?
  10. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  16. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  17. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  18. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  19. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  20. The ________________ went through the wall.
  21. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  22. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  23. It's one o'clock ________________.
  24. He's quite ________________, isn't he?

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to bend
  2. game — a match
  3. field — a subject
  4. board — a flat piece
  5. mug — a face
  6. sharp — with an edge
  7. face — to confront
  8. field — farmland
  9. mug — to rob
  10. board — to get on
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. field — for sport
  13. mug — a cup
  14. game — wild animals
  15. lean — thin
  16. lean — to rest against
  17. nail — on a finger
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. board — a committee
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. face — part of the head
  22. face — to point toward
  23. sharp — exactly
  24. sharp — clever

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