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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. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  2. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  3. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  9. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  16. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  17. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  24. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. tear — to rip
  3. pit — in a race
  4. wound — an injury
  5. tear — from crying
  6. tear — from crying
  7. chair — a leader
  8. club — for golf
  9. chair — to sit on
  10. last — final
  11. field — a subject
  12. chair — a professorship
  13. chest — a box
  14. chest — of your body
  15. club — a group
  16. pit — a hole
  17. pit — a fruit stone
  18. field — farmland
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. field — for sport
  21. chest — of your body
  22. last — finally
  23. last — to go on
  24. club — for dancing

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