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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: board · ruler · bear · saw · cold · mine · tear · chair

  1. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. She's very handy with a ________________.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  5. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  10. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  11. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  12. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  15. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  16. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  17. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  22. He works in a ________________ mill.
  23. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  24. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. saw — the tool
  3. tear — from crying
  4. ruler — a monarch
  5. ruler — for measuring
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. board — to get on
  8. tear — to rip
  9. saw — past of 'see'
  10. bear — the animal
  11. chair — to sit on
  12. board — a flat piece
  13. cold — not warm
  14. chair — a leader
  15. bear — the animal
  16. chair — a professorship
  17. board — a committee
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. bear — to put up with
  20. cold — an illness
  21. mine — for digging
  22. saw — the tool
  23. ruler — for measuring
  24. tear — from crying

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