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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 116 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. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  4. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  14. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  17. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. tear — from crying
  3. fan — to cool the air
  4. prune — the fruit
  5. tear — to rip
  6. lean — to bend
  7. field — a subject
  8. prune — to trim
  9. last — to go on
  10. field — for sport
  11. bark — a dog's sound
  12. bark — to shout
  13. lean — to rest against
  14. leaves — to go away
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. lean — thin
  17. prune — to trim
  18. tear — from crying
  19. leaves — of a tree
  20. last — finally
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. last — final
  23. field — farmland
  24. leaves — lets stay

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