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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. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  9. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  13. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. That must've been a ________________.
  18. There's no middle ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. rush — to hurry
  3. chair — a leader
  4. ground — crushed
  5. tear — to rip
  6. ruler — for measuring
  7. tear — from crying
  8. rush — hurry
  9. ground — the earth
  10. file — a line of people
  11. tear — from crying
  12. chair — to sit on
  13. ruler — a monarch
  14. file — a tool
  15. ruler — for measuring
  16. file — a document
  17. rush — a thrill
  18. ground — a position

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