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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. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  2. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. Did you ________________ the meat?
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  13. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  14. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  15. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  23. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. season — in sport
  2. safe — a strongbox
  3. tear — from crying
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. safe — out of danger
  6. band — a ring
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. season — to add flavour
  9. march — music
  10. dip — a sauce
  11. cold — not warm
  12. safe — out of danger
  13. dip — to sink
  14. season — of the year
  15. dip — to dunk
  16. cold — an illness
  17. march — the month
  18. tear — from crying
  19. tear — to rip
  20. march — the month
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. chair — a leader
  23. chair — to sit on
  24. band — a music group

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