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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 120 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. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  2. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  3. She's very handy with a ________________.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  6. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  7. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  11. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  12. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  13. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  14. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  15. David sat on the ________________.
  16. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  17. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  20. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  21. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  22. He works in a ________________ mill.
  23. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  24. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.

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

Answer key

  1. object — a thing
  2. swing — music
  3. saw — the tool
  4. tear — from crying
  5. object — to protest
  6. craft — boats
  7. craft — a skill
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. tear — to rip
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. chair — to sit on
  12. object — an aim
  13. rest — a break
  14. saw — past of 'see'
  15. swing — to play on
  16. swing — in golf
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. tear — from crying
  19. stick — to attach or keep to
  20. craft — a handicraft
  21. rest — what's left
  22. saw — the tool
  23. chair — a leader
  24. rest — what's left

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