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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. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  12. What do you think of the new ________________?
  13. When will it ________________ you to start?
  14. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  15. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  18. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  19. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  20. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  23. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  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. chair — a professorship
  2. rock — music
  3. tear — to rip
  4. snap — to click
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. hide — animal skin
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. cabinet — ministers
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. tear — from crying
  11. rock — to move gently
  12. cabinet — ministers
  13. suit — to fit
  14. snap — to speak sharply
  15. suit — in cards
  16. mine — for digging
  17. suit — clothes
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. cabinet — a cupboard
  21. tear — from crying
  22. chair — to sit on
  23. chair — a leader
  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