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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. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  7. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  8. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  9. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  10. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  13. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  14. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. How do you ________________ your surname?
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  19. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  20. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  21. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  24. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to bend
  2. wind — moving air
  3. land — to come down
  4. spell — magic
  5. chair — a leader
  6. board — to get on
  7. lean — thin
  8. club — for dancing
  9. chair — to sit on
  10. kick — a thrill
  11. land — a country
  12. board — a committee
  13. kick — with a leg
  14. kick — in football
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. spell — letters
  17. wind — moving air
  18. spell — a short time
  19. club — a group
  20. lean — to rest against
  21. board — a flat piece
  22. land — ground
  23. chair — a professorship
  24. club — for golf

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