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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 116 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. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  2. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  4. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  11. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. What do you think of the new ________________?
  16. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  17. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  18. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — a permit
  2. chair — a leader
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. pass — to succeed
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. tear — to rip
  7. pass — to spend time
  8. tear — from crying
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. chair — to sit on
  12. mine — for digging
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. tear — from crying
  15. cabinet — ministers
  16. cabinet — a cupboard
  17. patient — calm and waiting
  18. chair — a professorship

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