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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. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  2. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  10. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  16. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  17. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  18. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  19. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  23. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  24. Have you met the new head ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. rock — to move gently
  2. chair — to sit on
  3. tear — from crying
  4. trunk — of a tree
  5. tear — to rip
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. spring — the season
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. present — a gift
  10. rock — a stone
  11. spring — a coil
  12. tear — from crying
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. capital — a city
  15. trunk — of a car
  16. coach — pulled by horses
  17. present — there
  18. present — the time now
  19. rock — music
  20. capital — money
  21. spring — of water
  22. chair — a leader
  23. trunk — of an elephant
  24. coach — a trainer

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