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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. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  5. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  6. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  9. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  13. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  17. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  21. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  22. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  23. He is an ace ________________.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. firm — decided
  3. tear — to rip
  4. mark — a grade
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. mark — a trace
  7. chair — a leader
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. chair — to sit on
  10. chest — of your body
  11. chest — a box
  12. wake — before a funeral
  13. mark — to pay attention
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. tear — from crying
  16. firm — a company
  17. wake — to stop sleeping
  18. chest — of your body
  19. tear — from crying
  20. wake — a trail
  21. firm — steady
  22. chair — a professorship
  23. pitcher — in baseball
  24. mine — an explosive

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