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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. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  2. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  3. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  4. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  5. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  6. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  7. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  8. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  9. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  10. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  16. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. How do you ________________ your surname?
  22. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  23. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  24. You can't go backstage without a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. tear — to rip
  3. lean — thin
  4. spell — magic
  5. face — part of the head
  6. wave — of the sea
  7. wave — with your hand
  8. cell — in biology
  9. lean — to rest against
  10. lean — to bend
  11. field — for sport
  12. field — a subject
  13. face — to confront
  14. tear — from crying
  15. wave — a sudden rise
  16. spell — a short time
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. pass — to spend time
  19. tear — from crying
  20. field — farmland
  21. spell — letters
  22. face — to point toward
  23. pass — to succeed
  24. pass — a permit

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