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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. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  2. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  4. There's no middle ________________.
  5. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  13. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  14. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  17. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  18. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  23. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  24. He is as ________________ as a wolf.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — to rip
  2. chair — a leader
  3. mouse — for a computer
  4. ground — a position
  5. net — after costs
  6. ground — crushed
  7. net — for catching
  8. tear — from crying
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. chair — to sit on
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. trunk — of an elephant
  13. trunk — of a car
  14. trunk — of a tree
  15. net — in sport
  16. mouse — the animal
  17. chair — a professorship
  18. lean — to bend
  19. tear — from crying
  20. ground — the earth
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. lean — to rest against
  23. mouse — the animal
  24. lean — thin

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