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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  7. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. We have nothing to ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — thin
  2. band — a music group
  3. tear — from crying
  4. lean — to rest against
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. lean — to bend
  7. foot — part of the body
  8. tear — from crying
  9. foot — the bottom
  10. field — a subject
  11. hide — animal skin
  12. field — for sport
  13. field — farmland
  14. foot — a measure
  15. band — a ring
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. tear — to rip
  18. hide — to keep secret

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