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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. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  2. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  3. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  4. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  7. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  8. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  9. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  10. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  13. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  14. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  15. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  16. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  17. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  18. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  19. The ________________ market has crashed.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  22. Have you met the new head ________________?
  23. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  24. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to point toward
  2. pound — to hit hard
  3. prune — to trim
  4. prune — the fruit
  5. tear — from crying
  6. prune — to trim
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. chair — to sit on
  9. coach — pulled by horses
  10. pound — for dogs
  11. tear — to rip
  12. stock — goods
  13. stock — a soup base
  14. chair — a leader
  15. pound — a weight
  16. face — part of the head
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. chair — a professorship
  19. stock — shares
  20. tear — from crying
  21. face — to confront
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. patient — calm and waiting

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