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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. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  6. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  11. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  12. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  13. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  14. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  15. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  16. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  17. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  21. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  22. The ________________ took off on time.
  23. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  24. The ________________ change colour in autumn.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. net — in sport
  3. net — after costs
  4. cold — not warm
  5. net — for catching
  6. leaves — to go away
  7. tear — to rip
  8. drill — the tool
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. drill — army training
  12. chair — a leader
  13. plane — in geometry
  14. hide — animal skin
  15. leaves — lets stay
  16. drill — a practice
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. cold — an illness
  19. tear — from crying
  20. plane — a tool
  21. chair — to sit on
  22. plane — an aircraft
  23. chair — a professorship
  24. leaves — of a tree

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