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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. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  3. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  4. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  5. She's very handy with a ________________.
  6. He works in a ________________ mill.
  7. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  8. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  13. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  14. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  15. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  18. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  19. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  20. The ________________ went through the wall.
  21. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  22. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  23. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. nail — on a finger
  3. lean — thin
  4. rock — a stone
  5. saw — the tool
  6. saw — the tool
  7. rock — to move gently
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. scale — in music
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. scale — size or range
  13. lean — to bend
  14. scale — for weighing
  15. lean — to rest against
  16. game — a match
  17. saw — past of 'see'
  18. rock — music
  19. wake — a trail
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. wake — to stop sleeping
  22. chair — a leader
  23. wake — before a funeral
  24. game — wild animals

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