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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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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. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  5. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  8. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  9. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  10. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  13. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  14. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  15. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  16. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  19. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  22. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  23. When was this ________________ built?
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — to play on
  2. lean — thin
  3. spring — of water
  4. pitch — a sports field
  5. fork — in a road
  6. cell — a phone
  7. swing — music
  8. pitch — completely
  9. chair — to sit on
  10. lean — to bend
  11. cell — in biology
  12. swing — in golf
  13. temple — a place of worship
  14. pitch — a sales talk
  15. chair — a professorship
  16. fork — to eat with
  17. spring — a coil
  18. lean — to rest against
  19. temple — side of the head
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. fork — a garden tool
  22. chair — a leader
  23. temple — a place of worship
  24. spring — the season

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