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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. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  2. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  3. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  4. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. The tickets are free of ________________.
  7. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  12. There's no middle ________________.
  13. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  14. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  15. Don't do anything ________________.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  18. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  19. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  20. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  21. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — the earth
  2. club — for dancing
  3. chair — to sit on
  4. lean — thin
  5. row — a line
  6. charge — a price
  7. rash — on the skin
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. charge — electricity
  10. cold — an illness
  11. ground — crushed
  12. ground — a position
  13. lean — to rest against
  14. club — for golf
  15. rash — hasty
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. charge — in control
  18. rash — a series
  19. lean — to bend
  20. chair — a leader
  21. row — a quarrel
  22. cold — not warm
  23. row — to paddle
  24. club — a group

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