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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. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  5. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  6. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  7. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  8. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  9. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  12. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  13. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  14. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  15. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  16. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  17. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  22. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  23. The ________________ took off on time.
  24. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. lean — thin
  3. row — a line
  4. squash — to crush
  5. row — a quarrel
  6. pit — in a race
  7. rest — a break
  8. plane — in geometry
  9. rest — what's left
  10. file — a document
  11. pit — a fruit stone
  12. pit — a hole
  13. chair — a leader
  14. rest — what's left
  15. row — to paddle
  16. squash — the sport
  17. squash — the vegetable
  18. file — a line of people
  19. lean — to rest against
  20. file — a tool
  21. lean — to bend
  22. chair — a professorship
  23. plane — an aircraft
  24. plane — a tool

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