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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: season · tube · field · snap · chest · sharp · toast · lean

  1. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  2. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  3. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  8. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  11. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  12. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  13. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  14. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  15. It's one o'clock ________________.
  16. I'll be taking the ________________.
  17. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  20. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  24. Did you ________________ the meat?

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to speak sharply
  2. lean — to rest against
  3. lean — thin
  4. field — farmland
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. chest — of your body
  7. toast — a drink to someone
  8. season — in sport
  9. field — for sport
  10. season — of the year
  11. toast — bread
  12. tube — a container
  13. snap — to click
  14. sharp — with an edge
  15. sharp — exactly
  16. tube — the underground
  17. lean — to bend
  18. chest — of your body
  19. tube — in a tire
  20. toast — the most admired
  21. chest — a box
  22. field — a subject
  23. sharp — clever
  24. season — to add flavour

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