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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. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  3. How do you ________________ your surname?
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  11. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  12. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  13. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  22. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  23. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  24. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. spell — magic
  3. spell — letters
  4. row — a line
  5. foot — the bottom
  6. tear — from crying
  7. tear — from crying
  8. craft — a skill
  9. spell — a short time
  10. chair — a professorship
  11. face — part of the head
  12. craft — boats
  13. row — a quarrel
  14. chest — of your body
  15. tear — to rip
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. face — to confront
  18. row — to paddle
  19. foot — part of the body
  20. chest — a box
  21. foot — a measure
  22. face — to point toward
  23. craft — a handicraft
  24. chest — of your body

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