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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. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  4. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  5. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  6. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  7. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  8. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  9. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  12. David sat on the ________________.
  13. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  17. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  18. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  19. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  20. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  21. The ________________ went through the wall.
  22. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  23. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  24. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.

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. nail — on a finger
  4. wave — with your hand
  5. swing — in golf
  6. cap — a hat
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. lean — to rest against
  9. cap — of ice
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. fall — to drop
  12. swing — to play on
  13. swing — music
  14. capital — a city
  15. capital — money
  16. wave — of the sea
  17. lean — to bend
  18. fall — the season
  19. cap — a lid
  20. fall — to drop
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. lean — thin
  23. chair — a leader
  24. wave — a sudden rise

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