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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. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  6. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  13. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  20. The ball is in your ________________.
  21. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. can — a tin
  2. last — final
  3. spring — the season
  4. last — to go on
  5. net — for catching
  6. lean — to rest against
  7. tear — to rip
  8. tear — from crying
  9. court — of law
  10. net — after costs
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. lean — thin
  13. can — a tin
  14. last — finally
  15. chair — a leader
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. net — in sport
  18. court — of a king
  19. can — to be able to
  20. court — for sport
  21. lean — to bend
  22. tear — from crying
  23. spring — of water
  24. spring — a coil

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