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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 120 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. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  4. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  12. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  13. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  14. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  15. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  16. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  21. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. My father caught me by the ________________.
  24. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. field — farmland
  3. firm — decided
  4. arm — a part of something
  5. field — for sport
  6. tear — to rip
  7. field — a subject
  8. current — electric
  9. chest — of your body
  10. tear — from crying
  11. firm — a company
  12. firm — steady
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. current — of water
  15. kick — in football
  16. current — happening now
  17. spring — of water
  18. spring — the season
  19. chest — a box
  20. kick — with a leg
  21. chest — of your body
  22. spring — a coil
  23. arm — part of the body
  24. kick — a thrill

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