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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 put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  7. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  8. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  9. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  10. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  11. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  12. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  13. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  14. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  15. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  16. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  17. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  18. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  21. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  24. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. wound — an injury
  4. pound — for dogs
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. wound — an injury
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. cap — of ice
  9. pound — to hit hard
  10. chair — a professorship
  11. pound — a weight
  12. cap — a lid
  13. lean — to rest against
  14. lean — to bend
  15. chair — a leader
  16. can — to be able to
  17. can — a tin
  18. lean — thin
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. stick — to attach or keep to
  21. stick — a piece of wood
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. can — a tin
  24. cap — a hat

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