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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: row · capital · drill · chair · lean · leaves · bat · object

  1. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  5. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  8. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  12. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  19. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  20. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  21. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. lean — to rest against
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. drill — army training
  5. object — a thing
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. lean — to bend
  8. lean — thin
  9. capital — money
  10. row — a line
  11. object — an aim
  12. leaves — of a tree
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. row — to paddle
  15. bat — the animal
  16. leaves — lets stay
  17. capital — a city
  18. leaves — to go away
  19. drill — a practice
  20. chair — to sit on
  21. drill — the tool
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. object — to protest

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