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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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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: foot · tear · fine · chair · mine · band · hide · press

  1. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  11. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  12. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  17. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  18. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  19. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  20. Did you ________________ the button?
  21. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  24. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. foot — a measure
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. tear — from crying
  5. fine — high quality
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. mine — for digging
  8. press — newspapers
  9. tear — from crying
  10. fine — a penalty
  11. chair — a leader
  12. fine — all right
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. band — a music group
  15. band — a ring
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. foot — part of the body
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. press — a publisher
  20. press — to push
  21. hide — animal skin
  22. tear — to rip
  23. foot — the bottom
  24. chair — to sit 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