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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. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. Have you found your soul ________________?
  7. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  10. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  11. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  12. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  17. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  20. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  21. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  22. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  23. What do you think of the new ________________?
  24. Biology is a ________________ of science.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. cabinet — a cupboard
  3. tear — to rip
  4. present — a gift
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. mate — a partner
  7. chair — a professorship
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. chair — to sit on
  10. present — the time now
  11. mate — a friend
  12. present — there
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. branch — of a bank
  15. tear — from crying
  16. pit — in a race
  17. pit — a hole
  18. tear — from crying
  19. mate — to breed
  20. pit — a fruit stone
  21. cabinet — ministers
  22. branch — of a tree
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. branch — a division

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