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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 116 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 would like to have a ________________ here.
  2. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  5. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  10. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  15. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  16. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  17. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  18. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  19. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  23. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  24. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — a break
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. degree — from a university
  4. rest — what's left
  5. lean — thin
  6. chair — a leader
  7. rest — what's left
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. lean — to rest against
  10. chair — to sit on
  11. degree — an amount
  12. degree — temperature
  13. wind — moving air
  14. lean — to bend
  15. hide — animal skin
  16. club — for golf
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. chip — for betting
  19. chip — in a computer
  20. wind — moving air
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. chip — to eat
  23. club — a group
  24. club — for dancing

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