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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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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: present · date · fall · chair · mate · tear

  1. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  4. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. Have you found your soul ________________?
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  9. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  10. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  15. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  16. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  17. Have you settled on a ________________?
  18. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. fall — the season
  4. present — a gift
  5. chair — a leader
  6. mate — a partner
  7. tear — from crying
  8. fall — to drop
  9. mate — to breed
  10. fall — to drop
  11. tear — to rip
  12. date — the fruit
  13. tear — from crying
  14. present — the time now
  15. mate — a friend
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. present — there

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