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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. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  2. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  7. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  8. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  9. David sat on the ________________.
  10. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  13. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  16. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  19. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  20. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  21. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  22. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  23. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  24. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.

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

Answer key

  1. object — an aim
  2. present — a gift
  3. chair — a leader
  4. fall — to drop
  5. tear — from crying
  6. swing — music
  7. fall — to drop
  8. present — the time now
  9. swing — to play on
  10. cue — a hint
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. chair — to sit on
  13. swing — in golf
  14. tear — to rip
  15. cue — a signal
  16. fall — the season
  17. tear — from crying
  18. drill — army training
  19. cue — for pool
  20. object — a thing
  21. object — to protest
  22. drill — the tool
  23. drill — a practice
  24. present — there

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