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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. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  2. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. David sat on the ________________.
  6. We're on a ________________ here.
  7. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  8. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  9. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  14. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  15. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  16. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  17. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  18. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  19. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  20. That must've been a ________________.
  21. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  22. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  23. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  24. Tom got himself in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — to hit hard
  2. chair — to sit on
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. cold — not warm
  5. swing — to play on
  6. roll — on a roll
  7. jam — to spread on bread
  8. roll — a list
  9. rush — to hurry
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. jam — in traffic
  12. cold — an illness
  13. lean — to bend
  14. pound — a weight
  15. lean — thin
  16. rush — hurry
  17. pound — for dogs
  18. swing — music
  19. chair — a leader
  20. rush — a thrill
  21. roll — a cake
  22. swing — in golf
  23. lean — to rest against
  24. jam — a tight spot

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