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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. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  3. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  4. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  8. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  9. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  12. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  15. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  18. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  19. The ________________ market has crashed.
  20. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  21. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  22. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  23. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  24. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. wake — a trail
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. face — to confront
  5. tear — from crying
  6. tear — to rip
  7. chair — a professorship
  8. face — to point toward
  9. stock — goods
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. stock — a soup base
  12. wake — to stop sleeping
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. hide — animal skin
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. wake — before a funeral
  18. chair — a leader
  19. stock — shares
  20. face — part of the head
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. perch — the fish
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. mine — for digging

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