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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: chair · leaves · net · dip · wound · sharp · tear · charge

  1. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  2. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. The tickets are free of ________________.
  5. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. It's one o'clock ________________.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  16. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  17. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  18. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  19. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  20. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  21. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  22. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  23. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  24. What was your ________________ profit last year?

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

Answer key

  1. net — for catching
  2. wound — an injury
  3. tear — from crying
  4. charge — a price
  5. charge — electricity
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. tear — from crying
  8. sharp — exactly
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. sharp — with an edge
  11. net — in sport
  12. wound — an injury
  13. charge — in control
  14. tear — to rip
  15. dip — a sauce
  16. leaves — of a tree
  17. leaves — to go away
  18. chair — to sit on
  19. dip — to sink
  20. leaves — lets stay
  21. chair — a leader
  22. dip — to dunk
  23. sharp — clever
  24. net — after costs

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