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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: stick · squash · cell · lean · chair · field

  1. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  3. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  8. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  16. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  17. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  18. I'd like to play a game of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. stick — to attach or keep to
  3. lean — to rest against
  4. cell — a phone
  5. squash — to crush
  6. cell — in biology
  7. chair — a professorship
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. field — for sport
  10. lean — to bend
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. chair — to sit on
  13. field — farmland
  14. field — a subject
  15. squash — the vegetable
  16. lean — thin
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. squash — the sport

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