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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. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  2. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  3. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  4. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  5. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  6. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  7. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  8. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  9. Did you ________________ the meat?
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  12. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  15. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  16. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  17. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to bend
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. squash — to crush
  4. fork — a garden tool
  5. season — in sport
  6. fan — to cool the air
  7. fork — in a road
  8. lean — to rest against
  9. season — to add flavour
  10. bat — the animal
  11. fork — to eat with
  12. bark — a dog's sound
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. squash — the sport
  16. lean — thin
  17. squash — the vegetable
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. bark — to shout
  20. wind — moving air
  21. bark — of a tree
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. season — of the year
  24. wind — moving air

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