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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. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  9. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  10. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  13. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  14. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  17. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  18. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. David sat on the ________________.
  24. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. foot — part of the body
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. chair — a leader
  5. tear — to rip
  6. cold — not warm
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. lie — an untruth
  9. hide — animal skin
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. cold — an illness
  12. swing — music
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. chair — to sit on
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. foot — the bottom
  18. swing — in golf
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. foot — a measure
  22. tear — from crying
  23. swing — to play on
  24. lie — to recline

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