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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. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  3. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  4. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. Have you settled on a ________________?
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  13. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  19. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  20. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  23. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  24. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. fine — a penalty
  3. shower — rain
  4. fine — high quality
  5. tear — from crying
  6. fine — all right
  7. shower — to wash
  8. date — on the calendar
  9. capital — a city
  10. chair — a professorship
  11. tear — to rip
  12. can — to be able to
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. branch — a division
  16. tear — from crying
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. branch — of a tree
  19. branch — of a bank
  20. can — a tin
  21. capital — money
  22. chair — to sit on
  23. can — a tin
  24. date — the fruit

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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