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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. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. She's very handy with a ________________.
  7. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  8. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  16. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  17. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. He works in a ________________ mill.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  23. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  24. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — boats
  2. tear — from crying
  3. chair — a leader
  4. chair — to sit on
  5. chest — of your body
  6. saw — the tool
  7. club — a group
  8. club — for dancing
  9. game — a match
  10. craft — a skill
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. craft — a handicraft
  13. game — wild animals
  14. tear — to rip
  15. safe — out of danger
  16. safe — a strongbox
  17. club — for golf
  18. chest — of your body
  19. saw — the tool
  20. chest — a box
  21. tear — from crying
  22. chair — a professorship
  23. safe — out of danger
  24. saw — past of 'see'

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