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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. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  2. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  7. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  13. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  17. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  20. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  21. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to rest against
  2. root — of a word
  3. field — for sport
  4. tear — to rip
  5. field — a subject
  6. trunk — of a tree
  7. squash — the vegetable
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. tear — from crying
  10. squash — to crush
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. squash — the sport
  13. root — of a plant
  14. field — farmland
  15. tear — from crying
  16. trunk — of a car
  17. lean — to bend
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. lean — thin
  20. root — the cause
  21. trunk — of an elephant
  22. mine — for digging
  23. wound — an injury
  24. wound — an injury

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