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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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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: club · tear · cell · present · bear · cap · chair · season

  1. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  6. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  7. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  8. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  9. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  10. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  11. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  12. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  13. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  16. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  17. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  18. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  19. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  20. Did you ________________ the meat?
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. tear — from crying
  3. club — for dancing
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. present — the time now
  6. club — for golf
  7. bear — the animal
  8. club — a group
  9. season — in sport
  10. bear — the animal
  11. season — of the year
  12. cap — a lid
  13. present — there
  14. cell — a phone
  15. bear — to put up with
  16. cap — of ice
  17. chair — to sit on
  18. present — a gift
  19. cap — a hat
  20. season — to add flavour
  21. tear — from crying
  22. chair — a leader
  23. tear — to rip
  24. cell — in biology

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