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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. There's no middle ________________.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  8. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  11. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  12. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  17. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. When was this ________________ built?
  20. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  21. The King held a masked ________________.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  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. ground — a position
  2. tear — from crying
  3. last — final
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. last — finally
  6. chair — a leader
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. ground — the earth
  9. last — to go on
  10. ball — a great time
  11. stick — to attach or keep to
  12. temple — side of the head
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. ground — crushed
  15. wound — an injury
  16. ball — a round shape
  17. temple — a place of worship
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. temple — a place of worship
  20. chair — a professorship
  21. ball — a dance
  22. wound — an injury
  23. tear — from crying
  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