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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. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  2. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  3. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  4. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  10. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  13. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  14. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  15. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  16. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  19. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  20. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  21. Have you found your soul ________________?
  22. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  23. That was ________________ to happen.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to rest against
  2. object — an aim
  3. mate — to breed
  4. lean — thin
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. chest — a box
  7. object — to protest
  8. wind — moving air
  9. chair — a leader
  10. craft — a handicraft
  11. chest — of your body
  12. lean — to bend
  13. craft — a skill
  14. craft — boats
  15. bound — tied together
  16. chair — a professorship
  17. chest — of your body
  18. mate — a friend
  19. chair — to sit on
  20. object — a thing
  21. mate — a partner
  22. bound — obliged
  23. bound — certain
  24. wind — moving air

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