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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. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  11. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  12. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  13. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  16. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  21. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  22. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  23. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  24. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. cell — in biology
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. tear — to rip
  5. chair — a leader
  6. rest — what's left
  7. tear — from crying
  8. wind — moving air
  9. game — a match
  10. pit — a fruit stone
  11. present — the time now
  12. chair — to sit on
  13. pit — a hole
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. chair — a professorship
  16. pit — in a race
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. game — wild animals
  19. wind — moving air
  20. present — a gift
  21. present — there
  22. rest — what's left
  23. rest — a break
  24. cell — a phone

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