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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. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. The light ________________ burned out.
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. I've got to change the light ________________.
  9. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  10. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. Where did you ________________ them?
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  18. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. We have nothing to ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. bulb — for light
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. hide — animal skin
  5. row — a line
  6. tear — to rip
  7. field — a subject
  8. bulb — for light
  9. mug — a face
  10. row — a quarrel
  11. capital — a city
  12. mug — to rob
  13. row — to paddle
  14. field — farmland
  15. bulb — of a plant
  16. field — for sport
  17. mug — a cup
  18. chair — to sit on
  19. capital — money
  20. tear — from crying
  21. tear — from crying
  22. hide — to keep secret
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. hide — to keep secret

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