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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 116 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. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  2. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  3. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  4. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  7. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  13. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  17. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  20. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  21. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sports field
  2. lean — thin
  3. ruler — a monarch
  4. lean — to bend
  5. tear — from crying
  6. cap — a hat
  7. ruler — for measuring
  8. spring — the season
  9. rock — to move gently
  10. spring — of water
  11. field — a subject
  12. pitch — completely
  13. lean — to rest against
  14. field — for sport
  15. tear — from crying
  16. cap — a lid
  17. cap — of ice
  18. spring — a coil
  19. rock — music
  20. rock — a stone
  21. pitch — a sales talk
  22. tear — to rip
  23. field — farmland
  24. ruler — for measuring

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