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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 cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. It's one o'clock ________________.
  13. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  14. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  15. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  16. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  17. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  18. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  19. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  20. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  21. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  22. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  23. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  24. He's quite ________________, isn't he?

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. spring — a coil
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. cap — a hat
  6. tear — to rip
  7. tear — from crying
  8. lie — to recline
  9. spring — the season
  10. sharp — with an edge
  11. spring — of water
  12. sharp — exactly
  13. hide — animal skin
  14. chair — to sit on
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. cap — a lid
  17. chair — a leader
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. cap — of ice
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. leaves — lets stay
  22. leaves — of a tree
  23. leaves — to go away
  24. sharp — clever

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