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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 120 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. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  3. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  4. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. That must've been a ________________.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  9. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  15. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  16. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  20. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. lie — an untruth
  3. rush — hurry
  4. lie — an untruth
  5. tear — from crying
  6. rush — a thrill
  7. field — for sport
  8. firm — decided
  9. lie — to recline
  10. field — a subject
  11. chest — of your body
  12. lean — to bend
  13. tear — to rip
  14. lean — thin
  15. firm — a company
  16. firm — steady
  17. chest — a box
  18. tear — from crying
  19. rush — to hurry
  20. lean — to rest against
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. cold — not warm
  23. cold — an illness
  24. chest — of your body

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