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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 116 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. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  5. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  8. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  9. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  10. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  11. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  12. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  13. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  20. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  21. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  22. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. chair — to sit on
  3. chair — a leader
  4. pass — to succeed
  5. mark — to pay attention
  6. row — a line
  7. mark — a grade
  8. mark — a trace
  9. present — there
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. lie — an untruth
  12. present — a gift
  13. pass — to spend time
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. present — the time now
  16. tear — from crying
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. tear — to rip
  19. pass — a permit
  20. lie — to recline
  21. patient — calm and waiting
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. row — to paddle
  24. chair — a professorship

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