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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. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  2. Where did you ________________ them?
  3. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. I'll be taking the ________________.
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  21. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  22. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  23. How do you ________________ your surname?
  24. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.

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

Answer key

  1. foot — part of the body
  2. mug — to rob
  3. tube — a container
  4. tear — to rip
  5. mug — a cup
  6. tear — from crying
  7. tear — from crying
  8. tube — the underground
  9. spell — a short time
  10. chest — of your body
  11. fall — to drop
  12. chest — of your body
  13. tube — in a tire
  14. chest — a box
  15. fall — to drop
  16. field — for sport
  17. foot — a measure
  18. field — a subject
  19. field — farmland
  20. fall — the season
  21. spell — magic
  22. mug — a face
  23. spell — letters
  24. foot — the bottom

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