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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: field · kick · tear · hide · can · straw · chair · court

  1. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  14. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  21. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  22. The ball is in your ________________.
  23. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  24. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. tear — from crying
  3. kick — with a leg
  4. field — a subject
  5. kick — a thrill
  6. field — for sport
  7. can — to be able to
  8. court — of a king
  9. court — of law
  10. tear — from crying
  11. chair — to sit on
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. can — a tin
  15. tear — to rip
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. field — farmland
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. can — a tin
  21. kick — in football
  22. court — for sport
  23. hide — animal skin
  24. chair — a leader

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