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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 120 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: lie · land · spring · chair · current · sharp · tear · trunk

  1. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  7. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  8. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  16. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  17. It's one o'clock ________________.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  21. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  22. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  23. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  24. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. sharp — clever
  3. spring — of water
  4. sharp — with an edge
  5. tear — from crying
  6. lie — an untruth
  7. lie — an untruth
  8. trunk — of a car
  9. tear — to rip
  10. trunk — of an elephant
  11. spring — a coil
  12. land — to come down
  13. trunk — of a tree
  14. tear — from crying
  15. chair — a professorship
  16. lie — to recline
  17. sharp — exactly
  18. spring — the season
  19. land — a country
  20. current — of water
  21. current — happening now
  22. current — electric
  23. chair — to sit on
  24. land — ground

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