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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. False peace will not ________________.
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  5. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  12. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. That must've been a ________________.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  18. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  21. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. last — finally
  3. chair — a leader
  4. lean — to bend
  5. trunk — of a tree
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. trunk — of a car
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. tear — to rip
  11. chair — to sit on
  12. lean — thin
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. rush — a thrill
  15. last — final
  16. wind — moving air
  17. trunk — of an elephant
  18. rush — to hurry
  19. tear — from crying
  20. rush — hurry
  21. lean — to rest against
  22. wind — moving air
  23. tear — from crying
  24. wind — to turn a key

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