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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 birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  3. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  4. Have you settled on a ________________?
  5. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  6. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  12. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  13. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  17. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  18. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  19. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  20. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  21. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  22. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  23. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  24. A black ________________ roamed the forest.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to bend
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. pitch — a sports field
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. pitch — a sales talk
  6. lean — to rest against
  7. field — a subject
  8. spring — the season
  9. field — farmland
  10. spring — of water
  11. lean — thin
  12. bear — to put up with
  13. bear — the animal
  14. spring — a coil
  15. field — for sport
  16. pitch — completely
  17. mark — to pay attention
  18. date — the fruit
  19. mark — a trace
  20. mark — a grade
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. perch — the fish
  24. bear — the animal

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