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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. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  2. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  3. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  4. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  5. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  8. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  9. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  16. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  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. tear — to rip
  2. bowl — a dish
  3. dip — to dunk
  4. fine — high quality
  5. chair — to sit on
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. dip — a sauce
  8. bowl — to roll
  9. leaves — lets stay
  10. bat — the animal
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. fine — a penalty
  13. tear — from crying
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. dip — to sink
  16. leaves — of a tree
  17. mine — for digging
  18. leaves — to go away
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. tear — from crying
  21. fine — all right
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. bowl — a football final
  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