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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. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  8. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  9. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  10. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  11. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  12. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  13. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  14. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  15. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  16. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  21. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  22. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  23. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  24. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. lie — an untruth
  4. spell — letters
  5. current — happening now
  6. chair — a leader
  7. scale — in music
  8. fine — high quality
  9. scale — for weighing
  10. branch — of a bank
  11. chair — to sit on
  12. branch — a division
  13. current — of water
  14. fine — a penalty
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. lie — to recline
  17. tear — to rip
  18. spell — magic
  19. tear — from crying
  20. fine — all right
  21. current — electric
  22. spell — a short time
  23. scale — size or range
  24. branch — of a tree

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