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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. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  2. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  5. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  8. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  15. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  16. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  17. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  18. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  19. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  20. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  21. That must've been a ________________.
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  24. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. staff — a stick
  3. tear — from crying
  4. staff — employees
  5. net — after costs
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. net — in sport
  8. rest — what's left
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. capital — money
  11. chair — a leader
  12. capital — a city
  13. tear — to rip
  14. rest — what's left
  15. present — the time now
  16. rest — a break
  17. present — there
  18. staff — employees
  19. chair — to sit on
  20. rush — to hurry
  21. rush — a thrill
  22. tear — from crying
  23. net — for catching
  24. present — a gift

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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