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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. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  9. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  10. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  11. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  12. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  13. When was this ________________ built?
  14. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  15. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  16. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  23. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to bend
  2. content — happy
  3. land — a country
  4. board — to get on
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. lean — to rest against
  7. land — ground
  8. board — a flat piece
  9. temple — a place of worship
  10. board — a committee
  11. temple — side of the head
  12. chair — to sit on
  13. temple — a place of worship
  14. rule — to rule out
  15. chair — a professorship
  16. rule — a law
  17. land — to come down
  18. kid — to tease
  19. content — the amount
  20. lean — thin
  21. kid — child
  22. rule — government
  23. chair — a leader
  24. content — videos and posts

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