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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. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  10. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  11. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  12. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  13. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  14. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  15. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  16. She's very handy with a ________________.
  17. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  20. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  21. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  22. He works in a ________________ mill.
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. chair — to sit on
  3. tear — from crying
  4. net — for catching
  5. net — in sport
  6. land — to come down
  7. bear — the animal
  8. tear — to rip
  9. saw — past of 'see'
  10. foot — part of the body
  11. rest — what's left
  12. rest — what's left
  13. net — after costs
  14. rest — a break
  15. chair — a professorship
  16. saw — the tool
  17. bear — to put up with
  18. land — a country
  19. bear — the animal
  20. foot — a measure
  21. foot — the bottom
  22. saw — the tool
  23. land — ground
  24. tear — from crying

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