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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: chair · club · wound · pound · stick · bat · swing · lean

  1. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  2. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  5. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  9. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  10. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  11. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  14. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  18. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  19. David sat on the ________________.
  20. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  21. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  22. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to rest against
  2. lean — thin
  3. wound — an injury
  4. pound — a weight
  5. lean — to bend
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. wound — an injury
  8. swing — music
  9. swing — in golf
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. club — for dancing
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. club — for golf
  14. pound — for dogs
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. bat — the animal
  17. chair — a leader
  18. chair — to sit on
  19. swing — to play on
  20. pound — to hit hard
  21. club — a group
  22. stick — to attach or keep to
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. stick — a piece of wood

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