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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. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  2. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  7. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  15. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  18. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  21. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  22. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  23. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  24. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — to rip
  2. chair — to sit on
  3. cap — a lid
  4. wind — moving air
  5. band — a ring
  6. stem — of a plant
  7. scale — size or range
  8. wind — moving air
  9. scale — for weighing
  10. band — a music group
  11. tear — from crying
  12. cap — of ice
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. cap — a hat
  15. hide — animal skin
  16. tear — from crying
  17. scale — in music
  18. chair — a leader
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. hide — to keep secret
  21. hide — to keep secret
  22. stem — to come from
  23. stem — a stem cell
  24. chair — a professorship

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