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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. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  9. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  14. You don't need to ________________ round.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. We're almost out of ________________.
  18. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  19. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  24. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to bend
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. rock — music
  4. wound — an injury
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. rock — to move gently
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. chair — to sit on
  9. wound — an injury
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. pop — music
  12. content — happy
  13. rock — a stone
  14. pop — to visit
  15. capital — a city
  16. last — finally
  17. pop — soda
  18. chair — a leader
  19. lean — to rest against
  20. content — the amount
  21. last — final
  22. capital — money
  23. lean — thin
  24. last — to go on

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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