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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. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  7. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  8. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  9. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  15. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  16. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  17. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  18. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  19. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  20. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  21. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. She had a strange look on her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. pass — a permit
  3. bat — the animal
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. pass — to succeed
  7. rock — a stone
  8. face — to point toward
  9. staff — employees
  10. tear — to rip
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. tear — from crying
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. pass — to spend time
  15. staff — employees
  16. rock — music
  17. rock — to move gently
  18. face — to confront
  19. staff — a stick
  20. chair — a leader
  21. chair — to sit on
  22. tear — from crying
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. face — part of the head

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