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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. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  2. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. He works in a ________________ mill.
  8. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  9. We're on a ________________ here.
  10. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  11. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  15. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  16. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  17. She's very handy with a ________________.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  20. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  21. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  22. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  23. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — a cake
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. field — farmland
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. wound — an injury
  6. chair — a leader
  7. saw — the tool
  8. lean — to bend
  9. roll — on a roll
  10. roll — a list
  11. hide — animal skin
  12. wound — an injury
  13. field — for sport
  14. dip — to sink
  15. dip — a sauce
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. saw — the tool
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. dip — to dunk
  20. chair — to sit on
  21. saw — past of 'see'
  22. lean — thin
  23. lean — to rest against
  24. field — a subject

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