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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. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  4. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. Don't do anything ________________.
  13. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  14. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  17. He is an ace ________________.
  18. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  19. The ________________ took off on time.
  20. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  21. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  22. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. Fill up this ________________ with water.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — animal skin
  2. tear — from crying
  3. plane — a tool
  4. rash — a series
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. chair — to sit on
  7. ground — a position
  8. ruler — for measuring
  9. ground — crushed
  10. chair — a leader
  11. tear — from crying
  12. rash — hasty
  13. plane — in geometry
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. ground — the earth
  16. rash — on the skin
  17. pitcher — in baseball
  18. ruler — a monarch
  19. plane — an aircraft
  20. hide — to keep secret
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. ruler — for measuring
  23. tear — to rip
  24. pitcher — a jug

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