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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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Word bank
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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. What do you think of the new ________________?
  2. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  5. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  6. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  9. How do you ________________ your surname?
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  14. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  15. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  16. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  17. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  21. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  22. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  23. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  24. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — ministers
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. chair — a leader
  4. cabinet — a cupboard
  5. hide — animal skin
  6. chair — to sit on
  7. tear — from crying
  8. fork — in a road
  9. spell — letters
  10. tear — from crying
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. chest — of your body
  13. fork — to eat with
  14. pit — in a race
  15. pit — a hole
  16. pit — a fruit stone
  17. chair — a professorship
  18. chest — a box
  19. tear — to rip
  20. spell — a short time
  21. hide — to keep secret
  22. chest — of your body
  23. spell — magic
  24. fork — a garden tool

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