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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. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  2. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. The light ________________ burned out.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  9. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. I've got to change the light ________________.
  13. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  20. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  21. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sales talk
  2. current — happening now
  3. field — a subject
  4. bulb — for light
  5. tear — from crying
  6. current — of water
  7. field — farmland
  8. lie — an untruth
  9. pitch — completely
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. bulb — for light
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. lie — to recline
  16. wind — moving air
  17. tear — from crying
  18. field — for sport
  19. pitch — a sports field
  20. current — electric
  21. bulb — of a plant
  22. tear — to rip
  23. wind — to turn a key
  24. wind — moving air

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