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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. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  10. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  15. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  18. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  19. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  22. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  23. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  24. He keeps ________________ of his days.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. tear — from crying
  3. current — of water
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. cap — a lid
  6. tear — from crying
  7. current — electric
  8. march — music
  9. track — a song
  10. cap — of ice
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. march — the month
  13. tear — to rip
  14. cap — a hat
  15. track — a path
  16. mine — for digging
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. lie — an untruth
  19. chair — a leader
  20. march — the month
  21. current — happening now
  22. lie — to recline
  23. chair — a professorship
  24. track — to keep track

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