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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: chair · ground · board · rest · kid · tear

  1. There's no middle ________________.
  2. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  11. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  16. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  17. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  18. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — a position
  2. board — a flat piece
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. ground — crushed
  5. kid — child
  6. ground — the earth
  7. chair — a leader
  8. tear — to rip
  9. kid — to tease
  10. rest — what's left
  11. board — a committee
  12. tear — from crying
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. tear — from crying
  15. rest — what's left
  16. rest — a break
  17. chair — a professorship
  18. board — to get on

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