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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: cabinet · chair · tear · mate · bat · stick

  1. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  5. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  6. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  7. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  8. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  9. Have you found your soul ________________?
  10. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  13. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  16. What do you think of the new ________________?
  17. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. tear — from crying
  4. chair — to sit on
  5. stick — to attach or keep to
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. chair — a professorship
  8. mate — to breed
  9. mate — a partner
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. tear — to rip
  12. cabinet — ministers
  13. chair — a leader
  14. tear — from crying
  15. cabinet — a cupboard
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. mate — a friend
  18. bat — the animal

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