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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 cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  5. My father caught me by the ________________.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. It's one o'clock ________________.
  8. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. Have you found your soul ________________?
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  15. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  19. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  22. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  23. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  24. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. mate — to breed
  3. chair — a leader
  4. arm — a part of something
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. last — final
  7. sharp — exactly
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. last — finally
  10. chair — a professorship
  11. tear — to rip
  12. mate — a partner
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. foot — a measure
  15. mate — a friend
  16. band — a ring
  17. tear — from crying
  18. sharp — with an edge
  19. chair — to sit on
  20. band — a music group
  21. foot — the bottom
  22. foot — part of the body
  23. sharp — clever
  24. last — to go on

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