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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. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. The ________________ market has crashed.
  5. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  6. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  7. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  8. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  9. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  10. My mare is ________________ in color.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  16. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  19. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  20. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  23. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  24. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. chair — a leader
  4. stock — shares
  5. chest — a box
  6. stock — a soup base
  7. lean — to bend
  8. club — a group
  9. lean — thin
  10. bay — a horse colour
  11. capital — a city
  12. wake — to stop sleeping
  13. capital — money
  14. chest — of your body
  15. club — for dancing
  16. bay — a part of the sea
  17. chest — of your body
  18. bay — to keep at bay
  19. wake — a trail
  20. stock — goods
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. wake — before a funeral
  23. lean — to rest against
  24. club — for golf

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