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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 would like to have a ________________ here.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  4. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  9. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  10. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  14. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — a break
  2. tear — from crying
  3. rest — what's left
  4. lean — to rest against
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. field — a subject
  8. pound — to hit hard
  9. pound — for dogs
  10. lean — to bend
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. field — farmland
  13. pound — a weight
  14. leaves — lets stay
  15. tear — from crying
  16. field — for sport
  17. lean — thin
  18. hand — in cards
  19. rest — what's left
  20. bat — the animal
  21. leaves — of a tree
  22. hand — help
  23. leaves — to go away
  24. tear — to rip

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