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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. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  3. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  4. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  8. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. Have you settled on a ________________?
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  18. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  19. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  20. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  21. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  22. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  23. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  24. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. current — happening now
  3. current — of water
  4. pass — a permit
  5. tear — from crying
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. racket — a loud noise
  9. tear — from crying
  10. chair — a leader
  11. spring — the season
  12. stick — to attach or keep to
  13. tear — to rip
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. spring — a coil
  16. spring — of water
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. stick — a piece of wood
  19. current — electric
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. pass — to succeed
  23. date — the fruit
  24. pass — to spend time

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