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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. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  3. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  4. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  5. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  8. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  9. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  12. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  13. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  19. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  20. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  21. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  22. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. object — to protest
  4. object — an aim
  5. club — for dancing
  6. chair — a leader
  7. stick — to attach or keep to
  8. lean — to bend
  9. club — for golf
  10. tear — from crying
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. fan — to cool the air
  13. lean — thin
  14. file — a tool
  15. chair — to sit on
  16. file — a line of people
  17. tear — from crying
  18. stick — a piece of wood
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. club — a group
  21. object — a thing
  22. lean — to rest against
  23. tear — to rip
  24. file — a document

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