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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: cell · rest · toast · tear · chair · ground · rush · shower

  1. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  4. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  5. That must've been a ________________.
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  8. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  9. There's no middle ________________.
  10. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  13. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  14. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  19. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  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. cell — a phone
  3. shower — a meteor shower
  4. ground — the earth
  5. rush — a thrill
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. rush — hurry
  8. rest — a break
  9. ground — a position
  10. toast — a drink to someone
  11. shower — to wash
  12. toast — the most admired
  13. toast — bread
  14. ground — crushed
  15. tear — from crying
  16. chair — a leader
  17. shower — rain
  18. chair — to sit on
  19. rest — what's left
  20. tear — to rip
  21. rush — to hurry
  22. tear — from crying
  23. rest — what's left
  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