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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. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  5. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  6. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  16. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  17. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  18. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  19. My father caught me by the ________________.
  20. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. chair — a leader
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. mouse — for a computer
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. lean — to bend
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. arm — a part of something
  10. shower — to wash
  11. capital — money
  12. trunk — of an elephant
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. shower — rain
  15. mouse — the animal
  16. lean — thin
  17. trunk — of a car
  18. mouse — the animal
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. chair — a professorship
  21. capital — a city
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. lean — to rest against

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