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

  1. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  4. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  7. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  8. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  11. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  12. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  13. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. bass — low music
  4. lean — to bend
  5. tear — from crying
  6. bass — the instrument
  7. chair — to sit on
  8. lean — thin
  9. tear — from crying
  10. jam — a tight spot
  11. jam — in traffic
  12. bass — the fish
  13. lean — to rest against
  14. tear — to rip
  15. chair — a leader
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. jam — to spread on bread
  18. kid — to tease

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