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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 120 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. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  2. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  5. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  8. She's very handy with a ________________.
  9. He works in a ________________ mill.
  10. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  11. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  12. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  13. The King held a masked ________________.
  14. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  21. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  22. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — part of the body
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. hand — in cards
  4. saw — past of 'see'
  5. rest — what's left
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. rest — a break
  8. saw — the tool
  9. saw — the tool
  10. chair — a leader
  11. prune — to trim
  12. prune — the fruit
  13. ball — a dance
  14. prune — to trim
  15. tear — from crying
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. tear — from crying
  18. ball — a round shape
  19. hand — help
  20. rest — what's left
  21. ball — a great time
  22. chair — to sit on
  23. straw — a straw man
  24. tear — to rip

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