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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. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  3. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  4. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  14. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  15. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  24. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. lean — to rest against
  3. lie — an untruth
  4. lie — to recline
  5. field — for sport
  6. lean — thin
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. lean — to bend
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. race — humankind
  12. wind — moving air
  13. calf — a young animal
  14. calf — of the leg
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. race — the arms race
  17. race — a contest
  18. wind — moving air
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. cell — in biology
  21. field — a subject
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. cell — a phone
  24. calf — a young animal

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