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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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 · game · hand · racket · bound · season · mouse

  1. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. Did you ________________ the meat?
  5. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  10. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  15. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  16. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  17. That was ________________ to happen.
  18. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  19. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  22. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. season — of the year
  3. hand — help
  4. season — to add flavour
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. game — a match
  7. mouse — the animal
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. bound — tied together
  10. chair — to sit on
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. mouse — for a computer
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. bound — obliged
  15. mouse — the animal
  16. season — in sport
  17. bound — certain
  18. lean — thin
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. game — wild animals
  21. lean — to bend
  22. racket — a loud noise
  23. hand — in cards
  24. lean — to rest against

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