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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 120 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: swing · tear · net · stand · chair · root

  1. I can't ________________ this cold.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  6. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  7. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  8. David sat on the ________________.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  11. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  12. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  13. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  16. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  17. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  18. The ball hit the back of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stand — to bear
  2. tear — from crying
  3. tear — to rip
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. root — of a plant
  6. chair — to sit on
  7. swing — music
  8. swing — to play on
  9. tear — from crying
  10. swing — in golf
  11. root — of a word
  12. root — the cause
  13. stand — for spectators
  14. net — for catching
  15. net — after costs
  16. stand — on your feet
  17. chair — a leader
  18. net — in sport

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