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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. Have you found your soul ________________?
  2. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  3. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  6. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  11. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  12. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  13. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  14. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  17. This piece is in a major ________________.
  18. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  19. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  23. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  24. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. lean — thin
  3. rock — music
  4. chair — a leader
  5. chair — to sit on
  6. calf — of the leg
  7. clip — for paper
  8. kid — child
  9. clip — to cut
  10. chair — a professorship
  11. lean — to rest against
  12. mate — a friend
  13. mate — to breed
  14. rock — a stone
  15. kid — to tease
  16. rock — to move gently
  17. key — in music
  18. key — the most important part
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. clip — a video
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. key — for a lock
  23. calf — a young animal
  24. lean — to bend

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