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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. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  11. This piece is in a major ________________.
  12. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  13. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  14. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  24. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. last — finally
  3. fine — high quality
  4. wound — an injury
  5. key — for a lock
  6. last — to go on
  7. chair — a leader
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. chair — to sit on
  11. key — in music
  12. fine — all right
  13. fine — a penalty
  14. lie — to recline
  15. hand — help
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. wound — an injury
  18. hand — in cards
  19. key — the most important part
  20. tear — to rip
  21. last — final
  22. tear — from crying
  23. lie — an untruth
  24. lie — an untruth

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