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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. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  4. Have you found your soul ________________?
  5. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  6. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  7. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  8. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  14. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. There's no middle ________________.
  22. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  23. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. wave — with your hand
  4. mate — a partner
  5. dip — to sink
  6. mate — to breed
  7. mate — a friend
  8. dip — a sauce
  9. content — happy
  10. wave — a sudden rise
  11. tear — from crying
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. ground — crushed
  14. wave — of the sea
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. ground — the earth
  17. hand — in cards
  18. hand — help
  19. chair — to sit on
  20. tear — to rip
  21. ground — a position
  22. dip — to dunk
  23. chair — a leader
  24. content — the amount

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