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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. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  5. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  6. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  9. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  10. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  13. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. She's very handy with a ________________.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  18. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  19. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  20. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  21. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  24. He works in a ________________ mill.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. wave — a sudden rise
  3. spring — of water
  4. wave — with your hand
  5. chair — to sit on
  6. face — to confront
  7. spring — a coil
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. hide — animal skin
  10. saw — past of 'see'
  11. spring — the season
  12. wave — of the sea
  13. trunk — of an elephant
  14. tear — from crying
  15. saw — the tool
  16. tear — from crying
  17. trunk — of a tree
  18. face — to point toward
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. trunk — of a car
  21. face — part of the head
  22. tear — to rip
  23. chair — a leader
  24. saw — the tool

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