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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. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  7. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  10. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  13. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  14. What do you think of the new ________________?
  15. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  16. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  17. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  20. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  21. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. tear — from crying
  4. club — for dancing
  5. court — of a king
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. rock — a stone
  8. court — for sport
  9. club — a group
  10. rock — to move gently
  11. tear — to rip
  12. chair — a leader
  13. cabinet — ministers
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. hide — animal skin
  16. row — a quarrel
  17. cabinet — a cupboard
  18. tear — from crying
  19. club — for golf
  20. hide — to keep secret
  21. chair — to sit on
  22. court — of law
  23. row — a line
  24. row — to paddle

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