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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. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  2. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  6. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  7. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  8. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. We're on a ________________ here.
  14. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  15. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  16. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  19. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  20. It's one o'clock ________________.
  21. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  22. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  23. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  24. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — decided
  2. dip — a sauce
  3. tear — from crying
  4. tear — from crying
  5. kick — in football
  6. roll — a cake
  7. sharp — with an edge
  8. dip — to dunk
  9. field — for sport
  10. field — farmland
  11. sharp — clever
  12. tear — to rip
  13. roll — on a roll
  14. face — to confront
  15. firm — steady
  16. dip — to sink
  17. field — a subject
  18. kick — with a leg
  19. firm — a company
  20. sharp — exactly
  21. kick — a thrill
  22. roll — a list
  23. face — part of the head
  24. face — to point toward

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