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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. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  2. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  5. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  6. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  9. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  10. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. My father caught me by the ________________.
  13. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  14. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  18. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  19. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  20. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  23. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  24. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — thin
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. field — for sport
  4. trunk — of a car
  5. lean — to bend
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. file — a line of people
  8. arm — a part of something
  9. fan — to cool the air
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. field — farmland
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. lean — to rest against
  14. trunk — of a tree
  15. file — a document
  16. field — a subject
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. snap — to click
  19. snap — to speak sharply
  20. hide — animal skin
  21. file — a tool
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. trunk — of an elephant
  24. snap — to snap out of it

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