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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. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  3. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  6. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  11. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  12. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  13. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  16. That was ________________ to happen.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  21. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  22. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  23. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  24. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. lean — thin
  3. lie — an untruth
  4. file — a tool
  5. chair — to sit on
  6. lean — to rest against
  7. wind — moving air
  8. rule — a law
  9. file — a line of people
  10. drill — army training
  11. bound — obliged
  12. drill — a practice
  13. chair — a professorship
  14. wind — moving air
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. bound — certain
  17. file — a document
  18. rule — government
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. rule — to rule out
  21. lie — to recline
  22. bound — tied together
  23. drill — the tool
  24. lean — to bend

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