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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 116 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. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  2. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  5. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  6. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  7. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  8. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  13. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  14. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  15. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  16. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — a stick
  2. lean — to rest against
  3. chair — a leader
  4. staff — employees
  5. lean — thin
  6. staff — employees
  7. chair — a professorship
  8. lean — to bend
  9. tear — to rip
  10. chair — to sit on
  11. tear — from crying
  12. face — part of the head
  13. row — a quarrel
  14. row — a line
  15. face — to confront
  16. face — to point toward
  17. row — to paddle
  18. tear — from crying

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