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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 lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  2. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  3. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  6. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  7. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  8. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  15. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  16. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  17. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  20. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  23. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — a box
  2. prune — to trim
  3. toast — bread
  4. tear — from crying
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. toast — a drink to someone
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. chair — to sit on
  9. bat — the animal
  10. hide — animal skin
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. prune — to trim
  13. tear — to rip
  14. toast — the most admired
  15. craft — boats
  16. craft — a handicraft
  17. prune — the fruit
  18. tear — from crying
  19. craft — a skill
  20. chest — of your body
  21. chest — of your body
  22. chair — a professorship
  23. chair — a leader
  24. bat — in an idiom

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