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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. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. He is an ace ________________.
  3. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  4. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  7. Did you ________________ the meat?
  8. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  9. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  10. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  11. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  16. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  17. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  18. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  19. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  22. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  23. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  24. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. root — of a plant
  4. current — happening now
  5. wind — moving air
  6. leaves — to go away
  7. season — to add flavour
  8. leaves — lets stay
  9. chair — a leader
  10. season — of the year
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. wind — moving air
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. tear — to rip
  15. current — electric
  16. chair — a professorship
  17. root — the cause
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. season — in sport
  20. tear — from crying
  21. current — of water
  22. leaves — of a tree
  23. chair — to sit on
  24. root — of a word

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