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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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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: tear · leaves · hide · chair · saw · arm · shower · bat

  1. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  2. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  9. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  10. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  11. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  12. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  13. My father caught me by the ________________.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  16. She's very handy with a ________________.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  20. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  21. He works in a ________________ mill.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  24. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — of a tree
  2. tear — to rip
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. leaves — to go away
  5. shower — rain
  6. tear — from crying
  7. tear — from crying
  8. hide — animal skin
  9. chair — a leader
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. leaves — lets stay
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. bat — the animal
  15. chair — to sit on
  16. saw — the tool
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. shower — to wash
  19. saw — past of 'see'
  20. arm — a part of something
  21. saw — the tool
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. arm — part of the body
  24. chair — a professorship

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