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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. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  2. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  13. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  14. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  15. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  16. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  17. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  22. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — a company
  2. root — the cause
  3. chair — a leader
  4. tear — from crying
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. tear — to rip
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. tear — from crying
  9. cold — an illness
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. face — to confront
  13. firm — decided
  14. firm — steady
  15. root — of a word
  16. face — to point toward
  17. root — of a plant
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. bat — the animal
  21. face — part of the head
  22. chair — to sit on
  23. cold — not warm
  24. chair — a professorship

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