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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: chair · tear · band · chest · cap · bay · land · wake

  1. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  8. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. My mare is ________________ in color.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  16. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. cap — a lid
  3. tear — from crying
  4. cap — of ice
  5. chest — of your body
  6. band — a ring
  7. wake — to stop sleeping
  8. bay — to keep at bay
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. bay — a horse colour
  12. tear — from crying
  13. wake — before a funeral
  14. band — a music group
  15. chair — a leader
  16. wake — a trail
  17. land — ground
  18. bay — a part of the sea
  19. chest — a box
  20. tear — to rip
  21. land — to come down
  22. cap — a hat
  23. land — a country
  24. chest — of your body

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