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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. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  2. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  13. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. Where did you ________________ them?
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  21. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  22. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to rest against
  2. mate — a partner
  3. mate — to breed
  4. land — a country
  5. mug — a cup
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. lean — thin
  8. band — a ring
  9. lean — to bend
  10. shower — rain
  11. land — to come down
  12. mate — a friend
  13. chair — a leader
  14. band — a music group
  15. land — ground
  16. chair — a professorship
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. mug — to rob
  19. shower — to wash
  20. row — a quarrel
  21. mug — a face
  22. row — a line
  23. row — to paddle
  24. chair — to sit on

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