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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. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. Have you met the new head ________________?
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  9. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  10. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  11. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  12. The ________________ took off on time.
  13. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  14. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  15. I can't ________________ this cold.
  16. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  17. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  18. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  21. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  22. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  23. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  24. I have a corn on my right ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. tear — to rip
  3. tear — from crying
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. wound — an injury
  6. chair — to sit on
  7. tear — from crying
  8. foot — the bottom
  9. wound — an injury
  10. plane — a tool
  11. coach — pulled by horses
  12. plane — an aircraft
  13. chair — a professorship
  14. wake — to stop sleeping
  15. stand — to bear
  16. wake — before a funeral
  17. plane — in geometry
  18. wake — a trail
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. foot — a measure
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. stand — on your feet
  23. stand — for spectators
  24. foot — part of the body

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