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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. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. Don't do anything ________________.
  4. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  5. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  6. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  11. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  17. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  18. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  19. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  20. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  21. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  22. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  23. My mare is ________________ in color.
  24. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.

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. rash — hasty
  4. leaves — lets stay
  5. club — for dancing
  6. club — a group
  7. cold — an illness
  8. bay — to keep at bay
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. rash — a series
  11. pound — a weight
  12. tear — from crying
  13. tear — to rip
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. cold — not warm
  16. rash — on the skin
  17. bay — a part of the sea
  18. leaves — of a tree
  19. pound — for dogs
  20. club — for golf
  21. leaves — to go away
  22. pound — to hit hard
  23. bay — a horse colour
  24. chair — a leader

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