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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 116 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: cold · chair · leaves · craft · tear · staff · mark · rest

  1. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  6. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  7. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  8. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  13. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  17. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  18. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  21. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  22. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  23. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  24. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. cold — not warm
  3. leaves — to go away
  4. tear — from crying
  5. chair — to sit on
  6. mark — to pay attention
  7. rest — what's left
  8. craft — a skill
  9. tear — from crying
  10. staff — a stick
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. leaves — of a tree
  13. chair — a leader
  14. tear — to rip
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. leaves — lets stay
  17. staff — employees
  18. staff — employees
  19. cold — an illness
  20. rest — a break
  21. craft — boats
  22. mark — a grade
  23. mark — a trace
  24. craft — a handicraft

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