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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. David sat on the ________________.
  2. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  5. Have you found your soul ________________?
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  11. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  12. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  13. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  14. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  17. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  18. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  19. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  20. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  23. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  24. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — to play on
  2. chair — to sit on
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. mate — to breed
  5. mate — a partner
  6. tear — to rip
  7. cell — in biology
  8. tear — from crying
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. object — an aim
  11. kick — a thrill
  12. rest — what's left
  13. object — to protest
  14. chair — a leader
  15. cell — a phone
  16. rest — what's left
  17. mate — a friend
  18. swing — music
  19. swing — in golf
  20. rest — a break
  21. tear — from crying
  22. kick — with a leg
  23. object — a thing
  24. kick — in football

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