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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. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  5. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  9. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  10. That must've been a ________________.
  11. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  12. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  13. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  14. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  15. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  16. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  17. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  18. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  19. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  22. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  23. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  24. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. rush — hurry
  3. row — a line
  4. lean — to rest against
  5. fork — to eat with
  6. file — a tool
  7. file — a line of people
  8. row — to paddle
  9. foot — the bottom
  10. rush — a thrill
  11. foot — a measure
  12. pitch — a sales talk
  13. pitch — a sports field
  14. foot — part of the body
  15. chair — a leader
  16. pitch — completely
  17. fork — a garden tool
  18. chair — a professorship
  19. row — a quarrel
  20. file — a document
  21. rush — to hurry
  22. lean — to bend
  23. lean — thin
  24. fork — in a road

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