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

Word bank: lean · toast · fall · pound · stand · chair · cap · spring

  1. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  2. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  5. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  6. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  7. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  8. I can't ________________ this cold.
  9. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  10. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  11. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  12. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  13. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  14. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  15. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  16. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  17. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  18. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  19. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — thin
  2. toast — the most admired
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. pound — for dogs
  5. stand — on your feet
  6. cap — a lid
  7. toast — bread
  8. stand — to bear
  9. lean — to bend
  10. chair — to sit on
  11. fall — to drop
  12. cap — a hat
  13. pound — to hit hard
  14. fall — to drop
  15. toast — a drink to someone
  16. pound — a weight
  17. chair — a leader
  18. fall — the season
  19. lean — to rest against
  20. spring — a coil
  21. cap — of ice
  22. spring — of water
  23. stand — for spectators
  24. spring — the season

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