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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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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: present · saw · clip · chair · lean · capital · stick · rest

  1. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  2. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. She's very handy with a ________________.
  5. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  6. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  9. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  10. He works in a ________________ mill.
  11. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  12. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  19. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  20. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  21. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  22. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.

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

Answer key

  1. present — there
  2. lean — to bend
  3. capital — money
  4. saw — the tool
  5. present — a gift
  6. stick — to attach or keep to
  7. capital — a city
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. rest — a break
  10. saw — the tool
  11. lean — thin
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. clip — to cut
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. chair — a leader
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. clip — a video
  18. present — the time now
  19. saw — past of 'see'
  20. lean — to rest against
  21. rest — what's left
  22. chair — a professorship
  23. clip — for paper
  24. rest — what's left

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