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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. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  6. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  9. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  10. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  11. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  12. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  18. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  23. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. lean — thin
  2. clip — for paper
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. shower — to wash
  5. rest — a break
  6. firm — decided
  7. clip — to cut
  8. chair — a leader
  9. object — to protest
  10. firm — a company
  11. lean — to bend
  12. object — a thing
  13. land — a country
  14. object — an aim
  15. shower — rain
  16. clip — a video
  17. firm — steady
  18. chair — to sit on
  19. land — ground
  20. rest — what's left
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. rest — what's left
  23. lean — to rest against
  24. land — to come down

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