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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. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. When was this ________________ built?
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  7. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  8. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  9. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  13. It's one o'clock ________________.
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  16. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  17. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  18. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  24. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. temple — a place of worship
  5. chair — a leader
  6. face — part of the head
  7. temple — a place of worship
  8. patient — calm and waiting
  9. sharp — with an edge
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. chest — of your body
  12. chair — to sit on
  13. sharp — exactly
  14. cell — in biology
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. chest — of your body
  17. temple — side of the head
  18. sharp — clever
  19. tear — to rip
  20. tear — from crying
  21. face — to point toward
  22. chest — a box
  23. face — to confront
  24. cell — a phone

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