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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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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. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  3. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  4. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  7. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  8. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  9. How do you ________________ your surname?
  10. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  11. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  12. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  13. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  14. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  18. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  19. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  22. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  23. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  24. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. lean — to bend
  3. row — to paddle
  4. lean — thin
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. cap — a lid
  7. row — a quarrel
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. spell — letters
  10. cap — of ice
  11. object — a thing
  12. stick — to attach or keep to
  13. lean — to rest against
  14. chair — to sit on
  15. march — the month
  16. march — the month
  17. cap — a hat
  18. stick — a piece of wood
  19. spell — a short time
  20. march — music
  21. object — to protest
  22. row — a line
  23. spell — magic
  24. object — an aim

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