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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. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  7. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  8. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  12. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  13. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  14. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  17. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  18. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  21. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  22. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  23. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. board — a flat piece
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. kick — with a leg
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. prune — to trim
  7. cap — a lid
  8. prune — to trim
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. tear — from crying
  11. leaves — to go away
  12. board — a committee
  13. prune — the fruit
  14. cap — of ice
  15. tear — to rip
  16. leaves — of a tree
  17. chair — to sit on
  18. cap — a hat
  19. tear — from crying
  20. leaves — lets stay
  21. kick — a thrill
  22. kick — in football
  23. board — to get on
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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