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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 cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  4. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  11. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  12. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  18. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  22. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  23. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. lash — a whip stroke
  4. chair — to sit on
  5. tear — to rip
  6. band — a music group
  7. band — a ring
  8. lie — to recline
  9. court — for sport
  10. fine — a penalty
  11. lie — an untruth
  12. lash — an eyelash
  13. court — of law
  14. court — of a king
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. tear — from crying
  17. lash — to lash out
  18. chair — a leader
  19. cold — an illness
  20. cold — not warm
  21. fine — high quality
  22. fine — all right
  23. chair — a professorship
  24. cold — the Cold War

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