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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.

Make a worksheet

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: ground · present · tear · nail · chair · cold

  1. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  4. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  5. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  8. There's no middle ________________.
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  14. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  17. The ________________ went through the wall.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. tear — from crying
  3. present — there
  4. nail — on a finger
  5. present — the time now
  6. cold — not warm
  7. ground — the earth
  8. ground — a position
  9. ground — crushed
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. tear — to rip
  13. chair — a professorship
  14. chair — a leader
  15. cold — an illness
  16. present — a gift
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. tear — from crying

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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