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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: row · wave · chair · clip · press · bass · tear · lean

  1. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  2. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  5. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  8. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  9. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  14. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  15. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  19. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. Did you ________________ the button?
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to bend
  2. bass — the instrument
  3. clip — for paper
  4. wave — of the sea
  5. lean — to rest against
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. bass — low music
  8. press — newspapers
  9. bass — the fish
  10. row — a line
  11. chair — a leader
  12. tear — to rip
  13. press — a publisher
  14. lean — thin
  15. wave — with your hand
  16. row — to paddle
  17. clip — a video
  18. chair — a professorship
  19. wave — a sudden rise
  20. tear — from crying
  21. chair — to sit on
  22. tear — from crying
  23. press — to push
  24. clip — to cut

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