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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. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  7. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. This piece is in a major ________________.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  13. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  14. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  15. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  16. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. There's no middle ________________.
  19. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  20. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  21. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  22. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. ground — crushed
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. chair — to sit on
  5. tear — from crying
  6. rest — what's left
  7. fan — to cool the air
  8. tear — from crying
  9. key — in music
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. rest — a break
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. key — the most important part
  15. key — for a lock
  16. cap — a hat
  17. tear — to rip
  18. ground — a position
  19. cap — a lid
  20. chair — a leader
  21. rest — what's left
  22. cap — of ice
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. ground — the earth

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