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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. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. The ________________ went through the wall.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  11. Don't do anything ________________.
  12. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  13. Did you ________________ the button?
  14. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  15. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  18. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  21. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  24. I seem to be developing a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. court — for sport
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. tear — to rip
  5. court — of a king
  6. court — of law
  7. chair — a leader
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. wound — an injury
  10. foot — a measure
  11. rash — hasty
  12. rash — a series
  13. press — to push
  14. foot — the bottom
  15. chair — to sit on
  16. wound — an injury
  17. press — a publisher
  18. press — newspapers
  19. tear — from crying
  20. nail — on a finger
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. tear — from crying
  23. foot — part of the body
  24. rash — on the skin

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