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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. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. I can't ________________ this cold.
  9. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  10. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  15. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  16. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  24. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. tear — from crying
  3. tear — to rip
  4. tear — from crying
  5. mine — for digging
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. stand — to bear
  9. present — the time now
  10. bass — low music
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. chair — to sit on
  13. bat — the animal
  14. bass — the instrument
  15. stand — on your feet
  16. present — there
  17. band — a ring
  18. band — a music group
  19. present — a gift
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. stand — for spectators
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. bass — the fish
  24. chair — a leader

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