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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. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  3. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. Did you ________________ the meat?
  8. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  17. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  18. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  19. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  20. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  24. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. season — of the year
  3. season — in sport
  4. tear — from crying
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. tear — to rip
  7. season — to add flavour
  8. track — a path
  9. band — a ring
  10. land — ground
  11. chair — to sit on
  12. land — a country
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. tear — from crying
  15. band — a music group
  16. track — a song
  17. chair — a leader
  18. current — of water
  19. current — electric
  20. current — happening now
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. land — to come down
  23. track — to keep track
  24. mine — for digging

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