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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 120 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. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  2. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  13. He is an ace ________________.
  14. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  15. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  16. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  17. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  21. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  24. We were using a ________________ as a seat.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — to move gently
  2. firm — a company
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. chair — to sit on
  7. tear — to rip
  8. shower — rain
  9. wound — an injury
  10. tear — from crying
  11. shower — to wash
  12. kick — in football
  13. pitcher — in baseball
  14. chair — a leader
  15. firm — decided
  16. firm — steady
  17. kick — with a leg
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. wound — an injury
  20. kick — a thrill
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. tear — from crying
  23. rock — music
  24. rock — a stone

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