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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. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  2. David sat on the ________________.
  3. He works in a ________________ mill.
  4. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  7. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  8. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  9. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  13. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  14. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  15. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  16. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  17. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  18. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  21. She's very handy with a ________________.
  22. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  23. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  24. 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 — thin
  2. swing — to play on
  3. saw — the tool
  4. swing — music
  5. chair — a leader
  6. chair — to sit on
  7. lean — to bend
  8. saw — past of 'see'
  9. prune — to trim
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. chair — a professorship
  13. pit — a hole
  14. prune — to trim
  15. prune — the fruit
  16. stem — to come from
  17. lean — to rest against
  18. pit — a fruit stone
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. stem — of a plant
  21. saw — the tool
  22. pit — in a race
  23. swing — in golf
  24. 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