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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. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  3. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  4. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  5. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  6. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  7. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  8. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  9. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  10. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  11. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  12. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  13. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  14. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  15. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  16. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  17. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  18. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  19. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  20. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  23. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  24. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. lean — to bend
  3. club — for dancing
  4. present — a gift
  5. wake — a trail
  6. ruler — for measuring
  7. lean — to rest against
  8. club — for golf
  9. wake — to stop sleeping
  10. pit — a hole
  11. chair — a leader
  12. ruler — a monarch
  13. club — a group
  14. wake — before a funeral
  15. pit — a fruit stone
  16. row — a line
  17. present — there
  18. row — a quarrel
  19. lean — thin
  20. pit — in a race
  21. row — to paddle
  22. ruler — for measuring
  23. chair — a professorship
  24. present — the time now

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