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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. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. My mare is ________________ in color.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  10. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  11. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  12. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  15. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  16. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  17. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  20. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. How do you ________________ your surname?
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. pound — for dogs
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. game — wild animals
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. cold — not warm
  7. bay — a horse colour
  8. tear — from crying
  9. present — there
  10. present — the time now
  11. spell — a short time
  12. pound — a weight
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. spell — magic
  15. bay — a part of the sea
  16. present — a gift
  17. bay — to keep at bay
  18. tear — to rip
  19. pound — to hit hard
  20. chair — a leader
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. cold — an illness
  23. spell — letters
  24. game — a match

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