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

  1. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  2. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  7. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  8. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  9. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  10. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  13. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  14. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  15. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. My father caught me by the ________________.
  18. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. wound — an injury
  3. tear — from crying
  4. face — to confront
  5. tear — to rip
  6. chair — to sit on
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. chair — a leader
  9. face — part of the head
  10. fan — to cool the air
  11. tear — from crying
  12. arm — a part of something
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. chair — a professorship
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. face — to point toward

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