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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.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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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. David sat on the ________________.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  4. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  5. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  6. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  9. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  10. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  11. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  17. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  18. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  21. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  22. My father caught me by the ________________.
  23. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  24. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — to play on
  2. prune — to trim
  3. chair — to sit on
  4. swing — music
  5. fall — to drop
  6. fall — the season
  7. file — a line of people
  8. bear — the animal
  9. prune — to trim
  10. chair — a professorship
  11. bear — to put up with
  12. file — a tool
  13. file — a document
  14. prune — the fruit
  15. capital — a city
  16. chair — a leader
  17. swing — in golf
  18. arm — a part of something
  19. capital — money
  20. fall — to drop
  21. arm — part of the body
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. bear — the animal
  24. capital — a big letter

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