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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 120 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 · lean · fall · bound · scale · race · present · squash

  1. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  2. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  3. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  6. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  7. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  8. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  9. That was ________________ to happen.
  10. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  11. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  14. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  15. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  16. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  19. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  20. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  21. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  22. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  23. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  24. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.

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

Answer key

  1. present — the time now
  2. lean — to bend
  3. bound — obliged
  4. race — a contest
  5. lean — thin
  6. squash — the sport
  7. present — there
  8. lean — to rest against
  9. bound — certain
  10. chair — a leader
  11. scale — in music
  12. race — the arms race
  13. present — a gift
  14. fall — to drop
  15. scale — for weighing
  16. squash — to crush
  17. fall — to drop
  18. scale — size or range
  19. fall — the season
  20. race — humankind
  21. chair — to sit on
  22. bound — tied together
  23. chair — a professorship
  24. squash — the vegetable

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