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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: tear · bay · hand · chair · hide · race · land · mouse

  1. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  4. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  9. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. My mare is ________________ in color.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  16. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  17. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  20. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  24. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. race — the arms race
  5. tear — to rip
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. bay — to keep at bay
  9. chair — to sit on
  10. land — a country
  11. tear — from crying
  12. bay — a horse colour
  13. hand — help
  14. hand — in cards
  15. mouse — for a computer
  16. bay — a part of the sea
  17. mouse — the animal
  18. land — to come down
  19. chair — a leader
  20. race — humankind
  21. land — ground
  22. tear — from crying
  23. hide — animal skin
  24. race — a contest

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