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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 124 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. We're almost out of ________________.
  2. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  3. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. What do you think of the new ________________?
  7. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  8. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  9. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  10. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  13. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  14. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  15. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  20. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  21. You don't need to ________________ round.
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  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. pop — soda
  2. bear — to put up with
  3. lean — thin
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. cabinet — ministers
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. bear — the animal
  9. cabinet — a cupboard
  10. cabinet — ministers
  11. degree — from a university
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. pop — music
  14. chair — a leader
  15. lean — to bend
  16. degree — an amount
  17. mine — for digging
  18. degree — temperature
  19. stick — to attach or keep to
  20. bear — the animal
  21. pop — to visit
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. chair — to sit on
  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