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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. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  2. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  5. He is an ace ________________.
  6. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  7. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  8. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  9. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  10. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  11. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  12. What do you think of the new ________________?
  13. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  14. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  15. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  23. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  24. The ________________ went through the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — to rip
  2. chair — to sit on
  3. tear — from crying
  4. cabinet — a cupboard
  5. pitcher — in baseball
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. chair — a professorship
  8. staff — employees
  9. chair — a leader
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. cabinet — ministers
  13. nail — on a finger
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. wave — of the sea
  16. tear — from crying
  17. wave — with your hand
  18. march — music
  19. march — the month
  20. staff — employees
  21. march — the month
  22. wave — a sudden rise
  23. staff — a stick
  24. nail — for a hammer

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