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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 124 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. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  3. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  13. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  14. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  17. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  20. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  24. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. present — a gift
  2. staff — a stick
  3. staff — employees
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. present — there
  6. tear — from crying
  7. chair — a leader
  8. chair — to sit on
  9. tear — to rip
  10. cold — an illness
  11. cold — not warm
  12. chair — a professorship
  13. safe — out of danger
  14. bear — the animal
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. bear — to put up with
  17. safe — out of danger
  18. tear — from crying
  19. staff — employees
  20. safe — a strongbox
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. present — the time now
  24. bear — the animal

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