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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. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  2. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  3. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  4. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  5. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  8. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  11. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  12. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  15. The tickets are free of ________________.
  16. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  17. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  18. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  23. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — thin
  2. lean — to bend
  3. kick — in football
  4. lean — to rest against
  5. chair — to sit on
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. charge — in control
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. capital — money
  10. chair — a professorship
  11. kick — a thrill
  12. club — a group
  13. capital — a city
  14. club — for golf
  15. charge — a price
  16. chair — a leader
  17. charge — electricity
  18. club — for dancing
  19. file — a line of people
  20. hide — to keep secret
  21. file — a document
  22. hide — animal skin
  23. kick — with a leg
  24. file — a tool

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