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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. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  4. When will it ________________ you to start?
  5. When was this ________________ built?
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  8. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  11. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  14. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  15. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  16. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  17. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. chest — of your body
  3. temple — a place of worship
  4. suit — to fit
  5. temple — a place of worship
  6. field — a subject
  7. firm — a company
  8. snap — to snap out of it
  9. tear — from crying
  10. snap — to speak sharply
  11. snap — to click
  12. chest — a box
  13. row — a quarrel
  14. suit — in cards
  15. firm — decided
  16. row — a line
  17. firm — steady
  18. row — to paddle
  19. tear — to rip
  20. temple — side of the head
  21. tear — from crying
  22. suit — clothes
  23. field — for sport
  24. chest — of your body

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