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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. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  2. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  11. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  16. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  17. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  18. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  19. There's no middle ________________.
  20. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  21. Where did you ________________ them?
  22. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  23. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  24. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. net — in sport
  2. game — wild animals
  3. mug — a cup
  4. tear — to rip
  5. hide — animal skin
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. net — for catching
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. tear — from crying
  10. mug — a face
  11. rest — what's left
  12. tear — from crying
  13. chair — a leader
  14. game — a match
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. rest — what's left
  18. rest — a break
  19. ground — a position
  20. net — after costs
  21. mug — to rob
  22. ground — crushed
  23. ground — the earth
  24. chair — to sit on

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