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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. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  3. I'll be taking the ________________.
  4. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  5. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  8. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  9. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  10. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  11. That must've been a ________________.
  12. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  13. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  14. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  17. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  18. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  19. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  20. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  21. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  22. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  23. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  24. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. lean — to bend
  3. tube — the underground
  4. tube — in a tire
  5. lean — thin
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. current — happening now
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. bark — to shout
  10. bark — of a tree
  11. rush — a thrill
  12. rush — to hurry
  13. chair — a leader
  14. rush — hurry
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. pitch — a sports field
  18. perch — the fish
  19. pitch — a sales talk
  20. current — electric
  21. tube — a container
  22. current — of water
  23. lean — to rest against
  24. pitch — completely

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