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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. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  10. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  11. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  12. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  13. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  17. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  18. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  19. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  22. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  23. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. lean — to rest against
  3. net — after costs
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. wound — an injury
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. leaves — lets stay
  8. net — in sport
  9. leaves — to go away
  10. chair — a leader
  11. lean — thin
  12. wave — a sudden rise
  13. lean — to bend
  14. cell — in biology
  15. net — for catching
  16. can — a tin
  17. can — to be able to
  18. can — a tin
  19. leaves — of a tree
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. wave — with your hand
  22. cell — a phone
  23. wave — of the sea
  24. wound — an injury

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