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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 · date · cell · leaves · chair · fall · capital · rock

  1. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  5. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  6. Have you settled on a ________________?
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  11. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  12. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  13. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  18. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  19. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. cell — in biology
  4. fall — the season
  5. date — the fruit
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. tear — to rip
  8. leaves — of a tree
  9. tear — from crying
  10. rock — a stone
  11. fall — to drop
  12. leaves — to go away
  13. leaves — lets stay
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. chair — to sit on
  16. capital — money
  17. chair — a leader
  18. rock — to move gently
  19. rock — music
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. cell — a phone
  22. tear — from crying
  23. capital — a city
  24. fall — to drop

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