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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. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  6. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  9. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  10. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  11. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  12. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  22. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  23. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  24. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. craft — boats
  3. tear — to rip
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. craft — a handicraft
  6. chair — to sit on
  7. tear — from crying
  8. cap — of ice
  9. craft — a skill
  10. fall — to drop
  11. present — a gift
  12. chair — a professorship
  13. tear — from crying
  14. fall — the season
  15. kid — to tease
  16. game — a match
  17. cap — a hat
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. chair — a leader
  20. kid — child
  21. fall — to drop
  22. present — the time now
  23. cap — a lid
  24. present — there

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