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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. What do you think of the new ________________?
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  4. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  5. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  6. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  9. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  10. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  11. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  17. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  21. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  22. That must've been a ________________.
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — ministers
  2. tear — from crying
  3. wake — to stop sleeping
  4. present — the time now
  5. wake — before a funeral
  6. cabinet — ministers
  7. tear — from crying
  8. present — there
  9. chair — a leader
  10. chair — a professorship
  11. rush — hurry
  12. shower — to wash
  13. march — the month
  14. chair — to sit on
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. wake — a trail
  17. present — a gift
  18. shower — rain
  19. march — music
  20. rush — to hurry
  21. cabinet — a cupboard
  22. rush — a thrill
  23. march — the month
  24. tear — to rip

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