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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 116 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 want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  2. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  3. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  4. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  7. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  8. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  9. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  10. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  11. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  12. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  13. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  14. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  15. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  16. There's no middle ________________.
  17. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  18. I'll be taking the ________________.
  19. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. He is as ________________ as a wolf.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — a container
  2. row — to paddle
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. ground — crushed
  5. row — a line
  6. tube — in a tire
  7. stem — to come from
  8. ground — the earth
  9. chair — a leader
  10. calf — of the leg
  11. stem — of a plant
  12. lean — to bend
  13. row — a quarrel
  14. chair — to sit on
  15. chair — a professorship
  16. ground — a position
  17. stem — a stem cell
  18. tube — the underground
  19. lean — to rest against
  20. clip — to cut
  21. clip — for paper
  22. calf — a young animal
  23. clip — a video
  24. lean — thin

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