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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 116 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. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  6. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  9. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  15. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  16. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  17. Did you ________________ the meat?
  18. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  21. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  22. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  23. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  24. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to bend
  2. season — in sport
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. row — a quarrel
  6. bowl — a football final
  7. game — wild animals
  8. trunk — of an elephant
  9. lean — thin
  10. row — a line
  11. game — a match
  12. trunk — of a car
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. bowl — a dish
  15. bowl — to roll
  16. lean — to rest against
  17. season — to add flavour
  18. club — for golf
  19. row — to paddle
  20. season — of the year
  21. trunk — of a tree
  22. club — for dancing
  23. chair — a leader
  24. club — a group

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