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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. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  3. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  4. It's one o'clock ________________.
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  9. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  10. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  13. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  14. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  15. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  16. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to rest against
  2. sharp — with an edge
  3. chair — to sit on
  4. sharp — exactly
  5. last — finally
  6. squash — the vegetable
  7. last — final
  8. chair — a leader
  9. stem — to come from
  10. squash — to crush
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. stem — of a plant
  13. squash — the sport
  14. sharp — clever
  15. lean — thin
  16. lean — to bend
  17. last — to go on
  18. stem — a stem cell

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