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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. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  3. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  14. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  15. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  16. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  19. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  20. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  21. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  22. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  23. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. lean — to rest against
  3. rock — a stone
  4. game — a match
  5. file — a document
  6. drill — the tool
  7. file — a line of people
  8. lash — an eyelash
  9. clip — for paper
  10. clip — a video
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. clip — to cut
  13. drill — army training
  14. rock — to move gently
  15. lash — to lash out
  16. rock — music
  17. file — a tool
  18. lean — thin
  19. chair — a professorship
  20. chair — a leader
  21. drill — a practice
  22. lean — to bend
  23. lash — a whip stroke
  24. game — wild animals

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