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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. We're almost out of ________________.
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  6. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  10. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  11. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  12. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  17. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  18. You don't need to ________________ round.
  19. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  20. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  21. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  22. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — soda
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. tear — from crying
  4. net — for catching
  5. row — to paddle
  6. pop — music
  7. chair — a leader
  8. file — a line of people
  9. net — in sport
  10. pass — to spend time
  11. scale — for weighing
  12. chair — to sit on
  13. tear — to rip
  14. file — a tool
  15. row — a line
  16. scale — size or range
  17. net — after costs
  18. pop — to visit
  19. scale — in music
  20. pass — to succeed
  21. pass — a permit
  22. row — a quarrel
  23. file — a document
  24. tear — from crying

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