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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: chair · band · saw · fine · stick · sharp · pitcher · lean

  1. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  2. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. She's very handy with a ________________.
  6. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  7. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  8. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  9. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  10. He works in a ________________ mill.
  11. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  12. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  13. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  14. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  15. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  16. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  17. It's one o'clock ________________.
  18. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  19. He is an ace ________________.
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  22. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. chair — a leader
  3. lean — to rest against
  4. band — a ring
  5. saw — the tool
  6. lean — to bend
  7. chair — to sit on
  8. stick — to attach or keep to
  9. fine — high quality
  10. saw — the tool
  11. sharp — clever
  12. lean — thin
  13. saw — past of 'see'
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. fine — all right
  17. sharp — exactly
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. pitcher — in baseball
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. chair — a professorship
  22. sharp — with an edge
  23. band — a music group
  24. fine — a penalty

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