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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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Word bank
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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: chair · bat · tear · pop · hide · stand

  1. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  2. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  3. I can't ________________ this cold.
  4. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  5. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  8. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  9. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. You don't need to ________________ round.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. We're almost out of ________________.
  16. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — in an idiom
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. stand — to bear
  4. hide — animal skin
  5. chair — to sit on
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. stand — on your feet
  8. stand — for spectators
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. pop — music
  12. tear — from crying
  13. pop — to visit
  14. tear — to rip
  15. pop — soda
  16. chair — a leader
  17. bat — the animal
  18. tear — from crying

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