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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. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. Have you met the new head ________________?
  8. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  9. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  10. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. You don't need to ________________ round.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  17. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  18. We're almost out of ________________.
  19. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  20. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  21. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  22. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  23. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  24. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. chair — to sit on
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. pop — music
  5. ground — a position
  6. tear — to rip
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. mouse — for a computer
  9. mark — a trace
  10. mark — a grade
  11. tear — from crying
  12. coach — pulled by horses
  13. cold — an illness
  14. pop — to visit
  15. cold — not warm
  16. ground — crushed
  17. chair — a leader
  18. pop — soda
  19. mouse — the animal
  20. mark — to pay attention
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. chair — a professorship
  23. ground — the earth
  24. mouse — the animal

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