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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. Have you met the new head ________________?
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  5. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  6. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  7. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  8. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  9. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  10. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  11. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. Where did you ________________ them?
  14. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  15. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  16. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  17. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  18. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  19. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  20. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  23. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  24. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — thin
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. field — farmland
  4. bass — the fish
  5. scale — for weighing
  6. lean — to bend
  7. bass — the instrument
  8. coach — pulled by horses
  9. branch — a division
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. lash — an eyelash
  12. field — a subject
  13. mug — to rob
  14. lean — to rest against
  15. scale — size or range
  16. lash — a whip stroke
  17. mug — a face
  18. mug — a cup
  19. branch — of a bank
  20. branch — of a tree
  21. field — for sport
  22. bass — low music
  23. scale — in music
  24. lash — to lash out

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