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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. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  4. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  5. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  6. The light ________________ burned out.
  7. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  12. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. I've got to change the light ________________.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  23. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  24. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. bulb — of a plant
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. bulb — for light
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. tear — to rip
  9. chair — a leader
  10. tear — from crying
  11. hide — animal skin
  12. racket — a loud noise
  13. tear — from crying
  14. net — after costs
  15. net — for catching
  16. bulb — for light
  17. bat — the animal
  18. field — a subject
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. field — for sport
  21. field — farmland
  22. net — in sport
  23. hide — to keep secret
  24. chair — to sit on

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