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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. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  2. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. David sat on the ________________.
  6. The King held a masked ________________.
  7. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  8. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  12. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  13. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  14. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  15. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  16. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  19. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  20. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  21. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  22. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to bend
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. craft — a skill
  4. field — a subject
  5. swing — to play on
  6. ball — a dance
  7. ball — a great time
  8. lean — thin
  9. field — for sport
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. swing — music
  12. trunk — of a tree
  13. trunk — of an elephant
  14. swing — in golf
  15. craft — boats
  16. pit — a hole
  17. field — farmland
  18. craft — a handicraft
  19. lean — to rest against
  20. trunk — of a car
  21. ball — a round shape
  22. pit — in a race
  23. bat — the animal
  24. pit — a fruit stone

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