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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. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  2. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  3. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  4. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  5. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  6. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  14. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  15. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  18. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  22. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  23. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. kick — with a leg
  3. lean — to bend
  4. rest — a break
  5. kick — a thrill
  6. rock — music
  7. prune — to trim
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. rock — a stone
  10. land — to come down
  11. rest — what's left
  12. cold — not warm
  13. prune — to trim
  14. lean — thin
  15. rock — to move gently
  16. land — a country
  17. chair — a leader
  18. chair — to sit on
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. land — ground
  21. prune — the fruit
  22. lean — to rest against
  23. kick — in football
  24. cold — an illness

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