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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 slowly ________________ towards the light.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  4. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  9. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  10. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  22. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to bend
  2. tear — from crying
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. patient — calm and waiting
  5. tear — from crying
  6. jam — in traffic
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. jam — to spread on bread
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. lean — thin
  11. file — a tool
  12. last — finally
  13. last — final
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. file — a line of people
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. file — a document
  18. hide — animal skin
  19. bat — the animal
  20. last — to go on
  21. hide — to keep secret
  22. jam — a tight spot
  23. tear — to rip
  24. lean — to rest against

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