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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. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  2. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. I can't ________________ this cold.
  8. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  9. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  10. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. My father caught me by the ________________.
  14. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. David sat on the ________________.
  17. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  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. bat — in an idiom
  2. tear — to rip
  3. field — a subject
  4. bat — the animal
  5. stand — for spectators
  6. capital — a city
  7. stand — to bear
  8. arm — a part of something
  9. swing — in golf
  10. swing — music
  11. tear — from crying
  12. field — farmland
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. field — for sport
  16. swing — to play on
  17. wake — to stop sleeping
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. wake — before a funeral
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. capital — money
  22. wake — a trail
  23. tear — from crying
  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