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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. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  2. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  5. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  8. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  9. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. I'll be taking the ________________.
  12. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  19. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  20. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  21. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  22. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  23. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  24. I assure you, everything's ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. lean — to bend
  3. chair — a leader
  4. lean — thin
  5. face — part of the head
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. lean — to rest against
  8. net — after costs
  9. fine — a penalty
  10. row — to paddle
  11. tube — the underground
  12. face — to confront
  13. net — for catching
  14. wound — an injury
  15. row — a line
  16. chair — a professorship
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. tube — in a tire
  19. tube — a container
  20. fine — high quality
  21. net — in sport
  22. face — to point toward
  23. chair — to sit on
  24. fine — all right

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