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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: file · chair · cabinet · rock · bowl · arm · cold · tear

  1. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  2. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  3. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  7. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  10. My father caught me by the ________________.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  13. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  14. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  15. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  16. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  20. What do you think of the new ________________?
  21. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  22. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — to rip
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. bowl — a dish
  4. cold — an illness
  5. tear — from crying
  6. bowl — to roll
  7. file — a document
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. chair — to sit on
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. tear — from crying
  12. rock — music
  13. chair — a leader
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. arm — a part of something
  16. cabinet — a cupboard
  17. file — a line of people
  18. file — a tool
  19. rock — a stone
  20. cabinet — ministers
  21. rock — to move gently
  22. bowl — a football final
  23. cold — not warm
  24. cold — the Cold War

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