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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. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  4. You don't need to ________________ round.
  5. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  6. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  7. We're almost out of ________________.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  11. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  12. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  13. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  16. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  23. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  24. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — thin
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. pop — to visit
  5. track — to keep track
  6. pop — music
  7. pop — soda
  8. hand — help
  9. field — farmland
  10. rest — a break
  11. mouse — for a computer
  12. rest — what's left
  13. track — a path
  14. field — a subject
  15. track — a song
  16. lean — to bend
  17. field — for sport
  18. file — a line of people
  19. file — a tool
  20. file — a document
  21. hand — in cards
  22. mouse — the animal
  23. rest — what's left
  24. lean — to rest against

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