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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: march · chest · chair · tear · hide · bore

  1. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  3. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  4. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  11. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  15. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  16. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. chair — to sit on
  5. tear — to rip
  6. hide — animal skin
  7. march — the month
  8. chest — of your body
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. march — the month
  11. chair — a leader
  12. chest — a box
  13. march — music
  14. bore — to drill
  15. chest — of your body
  16. bore — gave birth
  17. tear — from crying
  18. bore — to tire

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