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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. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  6. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  13. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  14. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  15. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  16. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  17. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  18. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  19. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  20. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  21. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  22. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  23. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  24. There's no middle ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. mine — for digging
  3. ground — the earth
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. staff — employees
  6. lean — to rest against
  7. chair — a leader
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. chair — to sit on
  10. row — to paddle
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. lean — to bend
  13. staff — a stick
  14. hide — animal skin
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. snap — to click
  18. row — a line
  19. row — a quarrel
  20. snap — to speak sharply
  21. lean — thin
  22. staff — employees
  23. snap — to snap out of it
  24. ground — a position

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