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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. She's very handy with a ________________.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  6. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  9. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  10. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  11. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  14. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  15. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  16. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  17. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  18. I can't ________________ this cold.
  19. He works in a ________________ mill.
  20. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  21. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  22. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  23. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  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. stand — for spectators
  2. saw — the tool
  3. net — after costs
  4. tear — from crying
  5. net — for catching
  6. face — to point toward
  7. tear — from crying
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. lie — an untruth
  10. face — to confront
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. net — in sport
  13. stand — on your feet
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. stick — to attach or keep to
  16. face — part of the head
  17. saw — past of 'see'
  18. stand — to bear
  19. saw — the tool
  20. hide — to keep secret
  21. hide — to keep secret
  22. hide — animal skin
  23. lie — to recline
  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