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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. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  9. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  10. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  11. She's very handy with a ________________.
  12. He works in a ________________ mill.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  16. That was ________________ to happen.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  24. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. wind — moving air
  3. bound — obliged
  4. file — a line of people
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. chair — to sit on
  7. tear — from crying
  8. object — an aim
  9. saw — past of 'see'
  10. object — a thing
  11. saw — the tool
  12. saw — the tool
  13. land — to come down
  14. land — a country
  15. bound — tied together
  16. bound — certain
  17. tear — to rip
  18. file — a tool
  19. tear — from crying
  20. land — ground
  21. file — a document
  22. wind — moving air
  23. object — to protest
  24. chair — a leader

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