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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. Have you met the new head ________________?
  2. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  10. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  15. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  16. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. The ball is in your ________________.
  19. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  20. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  21. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  24. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. coach — pulled by horses
  3. chair — a leader
  4. tear — to rip
  5. tear — from crying
  6. wind — moving air
  7. lean — thin
  8. court — of a king
  9. branch — a division
  10. branch — of a tree
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. wind — moving air
  13. tear — from crying
  14. branch — of a bank
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. lean — to bend
  17. court — of law
  18. court — for sport
  19. cap — a lid
  20. chair — to sit on
  21. cap — a hat
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. cap — of ice
  24. lean — to rest against

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