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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: chair · bat · tear · pop · hide · stand · kid · foot

  1. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  4. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  8. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. We're almost out of ________________.
  14. I can't ________________ this cold.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  19. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  20. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  21. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  22. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  24. You don't need to ________________ round.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — in an idiom
  2. kid — to tease
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. stand — on your feet
  5. chair — a leader
  6. tear — to rip
  7. hide — animal skin
  8. foot — the bottom
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. bat — the animal
  11. chair — to sit on
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. pop — soda
  14. stand — to bear
  15. tear — from crying
  16. foot — a measure
  17. kid — child
  18. foot — part of the body
  19. stand — for spectators
  20. pop — music
  21. hide — to keep secret
  22. chair — a professorship
  23. tear — from crying
  24. pop — to visit

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