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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 · chair · chest · snap · prune · dip · mine · ruler

  1. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  5. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  6. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  7. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  12. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  13. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  14. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  19. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  24. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. snap — to snap out of it
  3. chair — a leader
  4. dip — a sauce
  5. prune — to trim
  6. dip — to sink
  7. snap — to speak sharply
  8. mine — for digging
  9. prune — to trim
  10. chest — of your body
  11. ruler — a monarch
  12. prune — the fruit
  13. chair — a professorship
  14. snap — to click
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. dip — to dunk
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. ruler — for measuring
  19. chair — to sit on
  20. tear — to rip
  21. chest — of your body
  22. tear — from crying
  23. chest — a box
  24. ruler — for measuring

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