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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. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  3. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  9. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  10. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. Did you ________________ the meat?
  15. The tickets are free of ________________.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  18. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to bend
  2. season — in sport
  3. charge — in control
  4. file — a line of people
  5. lean — thin
  6. land — a country
  7. land — ground
  8. can — a tin
  9. season — of the year
  10. can — to be able to
  11. file — a tool
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. land — to come down
  14. season — to add flavour
  15. charge — a price
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. charge — electricity
  18. lean — to rest against
  19. wind — moving air
  20. wound — an injury
  21. wind — moving air
  22. file — a document
  23. can — a tin
  24. wound — an injury

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