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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. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  3. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  6. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  7. What do you think of the new ________________?
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  12. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  15. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  16. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  17. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  22. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  23. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  24. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. straw — to clutch at straws
  3. wake — before a funeral
  4. chair — a leader
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. fork — to eat with
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. tear — from crying
  10. tear — to rip
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. chair — to sit on
  13. race — the arms race
  14. fork — in a road
  15. cabinet — a cupboard
  16. fork — a garden tool
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. wake — to stop sleeping
  20. tear — from crying
  21. wake — a trail
  22. race — humankind
  23. race — a contest
  24. hide — animal skin

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