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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. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  3. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  4. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  5. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  6. David sat on the ________________.
  7. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  8. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  9. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  15. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  16. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  17. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  18. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  19. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  20. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  21. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  22. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. lean — to rest against
  3. wax — in the ear
  4. object — to protest
  5. chair — to sit on
  6. swing — to play on
  7. rest — a break
  8. row — to paddle
  9. wax — for sculpting
  10. row — a line
  11. object — an aim
  12. spring — a coil
  13. spring — of water
  14. lean — thin
  15. swing — music
  16. row — a quarrel
  17. rest — what's left
  18. object — a thing
  19. chair — a leader
  20. lean — to bend
  21. swing — in golf
  22. wax — to grow
  23. spring — the season
  24. rest — what's left

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