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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. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  6. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  7. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  12. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  13. Did you ________________ the button?
  14. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  17. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. tear — from crying
  3. field — farmland
  4. last — to go on
  5. lie — to recline
  6. perch — the fish
  7. lie — an untruth
  8. tear — to rip
  9. press — a publisher
  10. wound — an injury
  11. fine — high quality
  12. fine — all right
  13. press — to push
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. fine — a penalty
  17. press — newspapers
  18. field — a subject
  19. last — final
  20. last — finally
  21. wound — an injury
  22. lie — an untruth
  23. field — for sport
  24. perch — for a bird

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