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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. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  3. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  7. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  8. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  9. The ________________ took off on time.
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  12. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  13. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  22. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. plane — a tool
  3. lie — to recline
  4. prune — to trim
  5. wind — moving air
  6. lie — an untruth
  7. chair — to sit on
  8. prune — to trim
  9. plane — an aircraft
  10. last — to go on
  11. lie — an untruth
  12. chair — a professorship
  13. stick — to attach or keep to
  14. wind — moving air
  15. last — final
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. prune — the fruit
  20. last — finally
  21. stick — a piece of wood
  22. plane — in geometry
  23. wind — to turn a key
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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