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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. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. Have you met the new head ________________?
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  7. She's very handy with a ________________.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  13. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  14. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  15. Have you found your soul ________________?
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  18. He works in a ________________ mill.
  19. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  20. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  21. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  22. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. tear — from crying
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. land — to come down
  6. mark — a grade
  7. saw — the tool
  8. tear — from crying
  9. land — a country
  10. mate — a friend
  11. land — ground
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. mark — a trace
  14. coach — pulled by horses
  15. mate — a partner
  16. tear — to rip
  17. chair — a professorship
  18. saw — the tool
  19. saw — past of 'see'
  20. chair — a leader
  21. chair — to sit on
  22. mark — to pay attention
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. mate — to breed

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