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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 120 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 put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. That must've been a ________________.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  5. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  8. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  17. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. That was ________________ to happen.
  24. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. rush — a thrill
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. rush — to hurry
  5. prune — to trim
  6. tear — from crying
  7. bound — tied together
  8. wax — to grow
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. bound — obliged
  11. tear — to rip
  12. wax — in the ear
  13. prune — to trim
  14. land — ground
  15. land — to come down
  16. wax — for sculpting
  17. rush — hurry
  18. tear — from crying
  19. prune — the fruit
  20. land — a country
  21. kid — to tease
  22. kid — child
  23. bound — certain
  24. chair — a leader

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