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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 120 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. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  2. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  7. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  8. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  9. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  10. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  11. Have you met the new head ________________?
  12. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  13. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  14. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  15. The ________________ took off on time.
  16. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  17. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  18. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  19. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  20. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  21. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  24. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. current — happening now
  3. chair — a leader
  4. current — electric
  5. tear — to rip
  6. plane — in geometry
  7. leaves — to go away
  8. coach — pulled by horses
  9. leaves — lets stay
  10. hide — animal skin
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. cap — a lid
  13. plane — a tool
  14. leaves — of a tree
  15. plane — an aircraft
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. current — of water
  18. chair — to sit on
  19. cap — of ice
  20. chair — a professorship
  21. cap — a hat
  22. tear — from crying
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. tear — from crying

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