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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. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  3. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  4. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  7. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  10. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  13. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  14. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  15. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  16. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  17. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  18. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  19. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  22. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  23. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  24. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. fall — to drop
  3. foot — a measure
  4. foot — part of the body
  5. chair — a leader
  6. scale — size or range
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. tear — to rip
  9. lean — thin
  10. fall — to drop
  11. tear — from crying
  12. scale — in music
  13. racket — a loud noise
  14. foot — the bottom
  15. chair — to sit on
  16. lean — to bend
  17. scale — for weighing
  18. hide — animal skin
  19. fall — the season
  20. tear — from crying
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. lean — to rest against
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. hide — to keep secret

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