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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. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  2. There's no middle ________________.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  5. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  6. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  7. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  8. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  20. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  21. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  22. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  23. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  24. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — thin
  2. ground — a position
  3. chair — a leader
  4. rest — what's left
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. object — an aim
  7. object — a thing
  8. ground — crushed
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. hide — animal skin
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. ground — the earth
  14. band — a ring
  15. band — a music group
  16. rest — a break
  17. bat — the animal
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. chair — to sit on
  20. rest — what's left
  21. hide — to keep secret
  22. lean — to bend
  23. object — to protest
  24. lean — to rest against

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