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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. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  3. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  6. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  10. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  11. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  12. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  15. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  16. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  23. My mare is ________________ in color.
  24. Biology is a ________________ of science.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. scale — in music
  3. scale — size or range
  4. chair — a leader
  5. bay — to keep at bay
  6. lean — thin
  7. spring — of water
  8. content — the amount
  9. pound — for dogs
  10. bay — a part of the sea
  11. lean — to rest against
  12. pound — a weight
  13. spring — the season
  14. pound — to hit hard
  15. scale — for weighing
  16. chair — a professorship
  17. spring — a coil
  18. branch — of a bank
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. branch — of a tree
  21. content — happy
  22. lean — to bend
  23. bay — a horse colour
  24. branch — a division

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