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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. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  2. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  3. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  4. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  7. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  8. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  9. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  10. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  11. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. Don't do anything ________________.
  14. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  15. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  16. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  17. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  18. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. That must've been a ________________.
  21. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  22. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — thin
  2. present — there
  3. lean — to rest against
  4. rush — to hurry
  5. chair — a leader
  6. present — a gift
  7. stem — a stem cell
  8. stem — of a plant
  9. drill — the tool
  10. stem — to come from
  11. rash — a series
  12. shower — rain
  13. rash — hasty
  14. drill — a practice
  15. drill — army training
  16. rush — hurry
  17. chair — to sit on
  18. lean — to bend
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. rush — a thrill
  21. rash — on the skin
  22. chair — a professorship
  23. shower — to wash
  24. present — the time now

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