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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. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  6. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  9. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  10. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  11. It's one o'clock ________________.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  14. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  15. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  16. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  17. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  18. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  19. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  20. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  21. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  24. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — with an edge
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. lean — to bend
  4. land — a country
  5. object — to protest
  6. lean — to rest against
  7. land — to come down
  8. lean — thin
  9. staff — employees
  10. staff — a stick
  11. sharp — exactly
  12. chest — a box
  13. chest — of your body
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. sharp — clever
  16. staff — employees
  17. chair — to sit on
  18. perch — the fish
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. chair — a leader
  21. object — a thing
  22. land — ground
  23. object — an aim
  24. chest — of your body

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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