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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. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  2. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  5. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  6. Did you ________________ the button?
  7. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  8. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  15. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  16. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. The tickets are free of ________________.
  19. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  23. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  24. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to bend
  2. game — wild animals
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. rest — what's left
  5. charge — in control
  6. press — to push
  7. board — to get on
  8. board — a committee
  9. kid — to tease
  10. clip — a video
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. lean — to rest against
  13. clip — to cut
  14. rest — a break
  15. charge — electricity
  16. rest — what's left
  17. clip — for paper
  18. charge — a price
  19. lean — thin
  20. kid — child
  21. game — a match
  22. board — a flat piece
  23. press — a publisher
  24. press — newspapers

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