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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 124 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. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  2. He is an ace ________________.
  3. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  4. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  5. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  8. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  13. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  14. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  15. Have you met the new head ________________?
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.
  19. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  20. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  23. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  24. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to bend
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. lean — thin
  6. chair — a leader
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. cell — in biology
  9. wound — an injury
  10. coach — pulled by horses
  11. cell — a phone
  12. lean — to rest against
  13. kick — a thrill
  14. kick — in football
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. wound — an injury
  17. kick — with a leg
  18. cell — in a prison
  19. toast — bread
  20. toast — the most admired
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. chair — to sit on
  23. toast — a drink to someone
  24. chair — a professorship

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