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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. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  10. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  11. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  17. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  18. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  19. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  22. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  23. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  24. We're on a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a lid
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. tear — to rip
  4. rule — to rule out
  5. tear — from crying
  6. mine — for digging
  7. vault — a safe
  8. chest — of your body
  9. rule — a law
  10. chair — to sit on
  11. cap — of ice
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. chest — a box
  14. chair — a leader
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. vault — in gymnastics
  17. rule — government
  18. cap — a hat
  19. roll — a cake
  20. tear — from crying
  21. roll — a list
  22. chest — of your body
  23. vault — an arched ceiling
  24. roll — on a roll

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