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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. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  2. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  3. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  4. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  7. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  8. Have you found your soul ________________?
  9. He is an ace ________________.
  10. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  16. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  17. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  18. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  19. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  20. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  21. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  22. I'll be taking the ________________.
  23. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  24. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — to go away
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. lean — to bend
  4. lean — to rest against
  5. chair — a leader
  6. tube — a container
  7. chair — a professorship
  8. mate — a partner
  9. pitcher — in baseball
  10. rock — a stone
  11. cold — not warm
  12. rock — music
  13. cold — an illness
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. mate — a friend
  16. leaves — lets stay
  17. mate — to breed
  18. leaves — of a tree
  19. lean — thin
  20. rock — to move gently
  21. tube — in a tire
  22. tube — the underground
  23. chair — to sit on
  24. pitcher — a jug

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