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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. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  4. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  5. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  14. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  15. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  16. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  22. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  23. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  24. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. field — farmland
  3. lean — to bend
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. chest — a box
  6. field — for sport
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. chest — of your body
  9. last — to go on
  10. field — a subject
  11. rest — what's left
  12. tear — to rip
  13. lean — thin
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. stick — to attach or keep to
  16. rest — what's left
  17. last — finally
  18. tear — from crying
  19. last — final
  20. tear — from crying
  21. lean — to rest against
  22. rest — a break
  23. fan — to cool the air
  24. fan — a supporter

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