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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 are growing on this ________________.
  2. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  3. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  10. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  11. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  12. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  13. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  18. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  21. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  22. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  23. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  24. He is as ________________ as a wolf.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. fine — high quality
  3. fine — all right
  4. prune — to trim
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. hand — help
  7. lean — to rest against
  8. hand — in cards
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. chair — a professorship
  11. squash — the vegetable
  12. lean — to bend
  13. squash — the sport
  14. field — for sport
  15. squash — to crush
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. fine — a penalty
  18. fan — to cool the air
  19. field — a subject
  20. prune — to trim
  21. prune — the fruit
  22. chair — a leader
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. lean — thin

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