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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. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  9. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  12. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  13. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  18. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  19. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  20. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  21. It's one o'clock ________________.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — a penalty
  2. tear — from crying
  3. chair — a leader
  4. fine — all right
  5. race — humankind
  6. hand — in cards
  7. race — a contest
  8. present — the time now
  9. fall — to drop
  10. hand — help
  11. present — a gift
  12. chair — a professorship
  13. fall — the season
  14. race — the arms race
  15. chair — to sit on
  16. tear — from crying
  17. fall — to drop
  18. sharp — with an edge
  19. present — there
  20. sharp — clever
  21. sharp — exactly
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. tear — to rip
  24. fine — high quality

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