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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 124 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. There's no middle ________________.
  2. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  9. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  10. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  11. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. David sat on the ________________.
  14. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  15. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  16. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — a position
  2. object — an aim
  3. tear — to rip
  4. tear — from crying
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. chair — to sit on
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. swing — in golf
  9. object — to protest
  10. ground — the earth
  11. swing — music
  12. kid — to tease
  13. swing — to play on
  14. object — a thing
  15. chair — a leader
  16. ground — crushed
  17. march — music
  18. content — happy
  19. march — the month
  20. kid — child
  21. march — the month
  22. tear — from crying
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. content — the amount

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