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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. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  6. When will it ________________ you to start?
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  9. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  10. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  11. You don't need to ________________ round.
  12. We're almost out of ________________.
  13. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  18. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  19. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  20. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  21. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  24. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. chair — to sit on
  3. pitch — a sports field
  4. chair — a leader
  5. fall — to drop
  6. suit — to fit
  7. bat — the animal
  8. suit — clothes
  9. pitch — a sales talk
  10. suit — in cards
  11. pop — to visit
  12. pop — soda
  13. fall — the season
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. tear — to rip
  17. patient — calm and waiting
  18. chair — a professorship
  19. fall — to drop
  20. pitch — completely
  21. pop — music
  22. tear — from crying
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. patient — a sick person

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