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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. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  2. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  3. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  4. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  5. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. We're almost out of ________________.
  8. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  9. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  12. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  17. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. You don't need to ________________ round.
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — thin
  2. rest — what's left
  3. dip — to dunk
  4. rest — a break
  5. racket — a loud noise
  6. court — for sport
  7. pop — soda
  8. lean — to bend
  9. pop — music
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. dip — to sink
  12. dip — a sauce
  13. field — a subject
  14. lean — to rest against
  15. shower — to wash
  16. rest — what's left
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. court — of law
  19. pop — to visit
  20. court — of a king
  21. field — for sport
  22. field — farmland
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. shower — rain

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