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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. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  5. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  6. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  7. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  8. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  13. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  14. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  17. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  20. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  21. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  22. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  23. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  24. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to bend
  2. chair — a leader
  3. land — to come down
  4. lean — to rest against
  5. jam — a tight spot
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. can — a tin
  8. jam — to spread on bread
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. land — a country
  11. cold — not warm
  12. chair — to sit on
  13. present — a gift
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. cold — an illness
  16. perch — the fish
  17. present — the time now
  18. land — ground
  19. can — a tin
  20. present — there
  21. can — to be able to
  22. lean — thin
  23. jam — in traffic
  24. chair — a professorship

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