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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. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  8. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  9. We're on a ________________ here.
  10. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  11. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  12. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  13. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  17. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. Have you met the new head ________________?
  20. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  21. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  22. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. snap — to click
  3. jam — to spread on bread
  4. wind — moving air
  5. ruler — for measuring
  6. tear — to rip
  7. jam — a tight spot
  8. coach — pulled by horses
  9. roll — on a roll
  10. roll — a cake
  11. chair — to sit on
  12. roll — a list
  13. snap — to snap out of it
  14. tear — from crying
  15. tear — from crying
  16. ruler — for measuring
  17. ruler — a monarch
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. chair — a leader
  21. jam — in traffic
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. wind — moving air
  24. snap — to speak sharply

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