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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. She's very handy with a ________________.
  2. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  8. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  9. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  10. He works in a ________________ mill.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. The ________________ market has crashed.
  13. Have you met the new head ________________?
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  16. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  17. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  23. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  24. Can you turn the ________________ on?

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. stock — a soup base
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. chair — a leader
  5. saw — past of 'see'
  6. tear — from crying
  7. chair — to sit on
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. deal — an agreement
  10. saw — the tool
  11. tear — from crying
  12. stock — shares
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. file — a document
  15. deal — a big deal
  16. stock — goods
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. file — a tool
  19. tear — to rip
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. file — a line of people
  22. coach — pulled by horses
  23. deal — to handle
  24. fan — to cool the air

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