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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: hide · bear · wound · drill · chair · squash · tear · chest

  1. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  2. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  10. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  11. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  12. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  16. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  20. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  21. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  22. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. bear — the animal
  3. wound — an injury
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. wound — an injury
  6. tear — from crying
  7. drill — the tool
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. drill — a practice
  10. chair — a leader
  11. bear — to put up with
  12. bear — the animal
  13. chest — of your body
  14. chest — a box
  15. chair — to sit on
  16. drill — army training
  17. tear — from crying
  18. chest — of your body
  19. hide — animal skin
  20. hide — to keep secret
  21. squash — the sport
  22. squash — to crush
  23. tear — to rip
  24. squash — the vegetable

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