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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. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  2. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  3. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  4. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  7. David sat on the ________________.
  8. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  9. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  10. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  19. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  22. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  23. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  24. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a path
  2. toast — the most admired
  3. lean — thin
  4. track — a song
  5. chair — a leader
  6. drill — a practice
  7. swing — to play on
  8. lean — to bend
  9. toast — bread
  10. swing — music
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. chest — a box
  13. chest — of your body
  14. chest — of your body
  15. swing — in golf
  16. cell — a phone
  17. cell — in biology
  18. drill — army training
  19. chair — to sit on
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. toast — a drink to someone
  22. lean — to rest against
  23. track — to keep track
  24. drill — the 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