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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. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  4. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  7. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  8. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  9. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  10. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  11. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  16. The King held a masked ________________.
  17. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  21. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  22. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  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. chair — a leader
  2. chair — to sit on
  3. lean — to rest against
  4. ball — a round shape
  5. clip — for paper
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. patient — calm and waiting
  8. ball — a great time
  9. pitch — a sales talk
  10. lean — to bend
  11. lean — thin
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. pitch — completely
  16. ball — a dance
  17. can — a tin
  18. clip — to cut
  19. clip — a video
  20. can — to be able to
  21. can — a tin
  22. pitch — a sports field
  23. straw — a straw man
  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