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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. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  3. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  6. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  10. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  11. The ________________ went through the wall.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  14. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  18. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  19. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. hide — animal skin
  3. chair — to sit on
  4. cell — in biology
  5. nail — on a finger
  6. prune — to trim
  7. cell — a phone
  8. file — a document
  9. object — to protest
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. file — a tool
  13. chair — a leader
  14. prune — to trim
  15. tear — from crying
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. object — a thing
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. tear — from crying
  22. object — an aim
  23. file — a line of people
  24. tear — to rip

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