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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. When are we going to ________________?
  2. He is an ace ________________.
  3. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  4. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  5. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. Where did you ________________ them?
  10. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  11. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  16. Have you found your soul ________________?
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  19. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  20. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  21. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  22. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. mate — a friend
  4. rest — a break
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. tear — to rip
  7. craft — boats
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. mug — to rob
  10. mug — a face
  11. chair — a leader
  12. tear — from crying
  13. craft — a handicraft
  14. land — a country
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. mate — a partner
  17. tear — from crying
  18. mug — a cup
  19. mate — to breed
  20. rest — what's left
  21. rest — what's left
  22. craft — a skill
  23. land — ground
  24. chair — to sit on

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