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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. This piece is in a major ________________.
  2. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  4. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. She's very handy with a ________________.
  9. How do you ________________ your surname?
  10. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  13. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  14. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  15. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. He works in a ________________ mill.
  22. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  23. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  24. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.

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

Answer key

  1. key — in music
  2. chair — to sit on
  3. spell — magic
  4. lie — an untruth
  5. chair — a leader
  6. key — for a lock
  7. tear — to rip
  8. saw — the tool
  9. spell — letters
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. clip — to cut
  12. rest — what's left
  13. rest — a break
  14. saw — past of 'see'
  15. lie — to recline
  16. tear — from crying
  17. clip — a video
  18. chair — a professorship
  19. clip — for paper
  20. tear — from crying
  21. saw — the tool
  22. key — the most important part
  23. spell — a short time
  24. rest — what's left

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