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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. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  3. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  4. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  5. We're almost out of ________________.
  6. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  7. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  8. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  9. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  10. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. The ________________ market has crashed.
  13. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  16. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  17. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  18. David sat on the ________________.
  19. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  20. Did you ________________ the meat?
  21. You don't need to ________________ round.
  22. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  24. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. object — to protest
  3. face — part of the head
  4. object — an aim
  5. pop — soda
  6. chair — to sit on
  7. swing — music
  8. pop — music
  9. stock — goods
  10. chair — a leader
  11. tear — from crying
  12. stock — shares
  13. stock — a soup base
  14. tear — to rip
  15. face — to point toward
  16. season — of the year
  17. object — a thing
  18. swing — to play on
  19. swing — in golf
  20. season — to add flavour
  21. pop — to visit
  22. face — to confront
  23. tear — from crying
  24. season — in sport

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