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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 120 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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: lean · rush · perch · pop · snap · game · field · mate

  1. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  2. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. You don't need to ________________ round.
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  9. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  12. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  13. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. Have you found your soul ________________?
  16. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  17. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  18. That must've been a ________________.
  19. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  20. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  23. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  24. We're almost out of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to bend
  2. perch — the fish
  3. game — a match
  4. snap — to snap out of it
  5. field — farmland
  6. pop — to visit
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. mate — to breed
  9. rush — to hurry
  10. field — for sport
  11. mate — a friend
  12. lean — to rest against
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. game — wild animals
  15. mate — a partner
  16. rush — hurry
  17. snap — to click
  18. rush — a thrill
  19. pop — music
  20. lean — thin
  21. field — a subject
  22. snap — to speak sharply
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. pop — soda

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