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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. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  3. It's one o'clock ________________.
  4. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  5. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  6. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  11. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  12. Don't do anything ________________.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  15. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  16. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  17. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  18. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  19. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  20. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  21. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  22. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  23. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  24. He keeps ________________ of his days.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. lean — to bend
  3. sharp — exactly
  4. track — a song
  5. lean — to rest against
  6. rash — on the skin
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. prune — to trim
  9. shower — to wash
  10. dip — to sink
  11. dip — to dunk
  12. rash — hasty
  13. shower — rain
  14. lean — thin
  15. rash — a series
  16. chair — a leader
  17. dip — a sauce
  18. chair — to sit on
  19. prune — to trim
  20. sharp — with an edge
  21. prune — the fruit
  22. track — a path
  23. sharp — clever
  24. track — to keep track

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