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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 124 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. How do you ________________ your surname?
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  4. The ________________ went through the wall.
  5. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  6. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  7. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  8. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  11. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  12. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  13. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  18. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  19. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  20. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  21. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  22. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  23. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  24. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — letters
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. lean — to bend
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. cap — of ice
  6. bank — for money
  7. bank — for money
  8. lean — thin
  9. chest — of your body
  10. cap — a hat
  11. cap — a lid
  12. wake — a trail
  13. chest — of your body
  14. chest — a box
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. wake — to stop sleeping
  18. bank — of a river
  19. spell — magic
  20. nail — on a finger
  21. wake — before a funeral
  22. chair — a leader
  23. spell — a short time
  24. lean — to rest against

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