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

  1. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  2. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  3. David sat on the ________________.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. The ________________ took off on time.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  10. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. I can't ________________ this cold.
  15. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  16. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  17. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  24. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.

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

Answer key

  1. stand — for spectators
  2. fall — to drop
  3. swing — to play on
  4. tear — from crying
  5. fall — to drop
  6. field — farmland
  7. plane — an aircraft
  8. tear — from crying
  9. plane — a tool
  10. swing — in golf
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. plane — in geometry
  13. tear — to rip
  14. stand — to bear
  15. swing — music
  16. fan — to cool the air
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. field — for sport
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. mine — for digging
  21. fall — the season
  22. field — a subject
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. stand — on your feet

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