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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: net · sharp · foot · content · tear · fall · chair · lash

  1. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  3. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. It's one o'clock ________________.
  6. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  7. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  8. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  9. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  10. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  11. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  12. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  15. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  16. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  17. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  18. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  19. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  20. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. fall — the season
  3. content — the amount
  4. tear — from crying
  5. sharp — exactly
  6. sharp — with an edge
  7. lash — a whip stroke
  8. sharp — clever
  9. net — in sport
  10. chair — a professorship
  11. fall — to drop
  12. fall — to drop
  13. tear — from crying
  14. foot — part of the body
  15. foot — the bottom
  16. foot — a measure
  17. lash — an eyelash
  18. net — after costs
  19. content — happy
  20. lash — to lash out
  21. net — for catching
  22. chair — to sit on
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. tear — to rip

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