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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. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  2. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  3. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  9. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  10. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  11. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  15. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  16. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  17. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to rest against
  2. scale — in music
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. mine — for digging
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. land — a country
  8. stick — to attach or keep to
  9. chair — to sit on
  10. chair — a leader
  11. scale — size or range
  12. land — ground
  13. land — to come down
  14. scale — for weighing
  15. lean — thin
  16. lean — to bend
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. mine — an explosive

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