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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. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  3. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  4. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  5. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  6. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  7. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  8. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  9. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  10. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  11. Did you ________________ the meat?
  12. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. She's very handy with a ________________.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  17. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  18. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  19. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  22. He works in a ________________ mill.
  23. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  24. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. lean — to rest against
  3. lean — to bend
  4. season — of the year
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. kick — a thrill
  7. squash — the sport
  8. kick — with a leg
  9. kick — in football
  10. chair — to sit on
  11. season — to add flavour
  12. saw — past of 'see'
  13. clip — a video
  14. saw — the tool
  15. clip — to cut
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. squash — the vegetable
  18. squash — to crush
  19. lean — thin
  20. clip — for paper
  21. chair — a leader
  22. saw — the tool
  23. season — in sport
  24. patient — calm and waiting

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