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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. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  5. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  11. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  12. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  13. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  16. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  17. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  20. This piece is in a major ________________.
  21. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  22. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. That was ________________ to happen.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. row — a line
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. bound — tied together
  5. leaves — of a tree
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. tear — to rip
  8. bound — obliged
  9. cold — not warm
  10. key — for a lock
  11. current — of water
  12. current — happening now
  13. key — the most important part
  14. tear — from crying
  15. row — to paddle
  16. leaves — lets stay
  17. chair — to sit on
  18. cold — an illness
  19. chair — a leader
  20. key — in music
  21. leaves — to go away
  22. current — electric
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. bound — certain

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