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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. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  2. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  3. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  6. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  13. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  14. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  15. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  21. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  22. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  23. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to bend
  2. drill — a practice
  3. chair — to sit on
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. lean — thin
  6. drill — the tool
  7. wind — moving air
  8. court — for sport
  9. mouse — for a computer
  10. wind — moving air
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. foot — a measure
  13. foot — part of the body
  14. lean — to rest against
  15. drill — army training
  16. cold — not warm
  17. court — of a king
  18. cold — an illness
  19. court — of law
  20. foot — the bottom
  21. chair — a leader
  22. mouse — the animal
  23. mouse — the animal
  24. cold — the Cold War

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