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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. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  3. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  4. My father caught me by the ________________.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  8. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  12. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  13. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  14. The tickets are free of ________________.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. I can't ________________ this cold.
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  22. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  23. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  24. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. lean — thin
  3. stand — on your feet
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. field — for sport
  6. mine — for digging
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. bark — a dog's sound
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. field — a subject
  11. arm — a part of something
  12. lean — to bend
  13. bark — of a tree
  14. charge — a price
  15. tear — from crying
  16. tear — to rip
  17. stand — for spectators
  18. field — farmland
  19. stand — to bear
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. lean — to rest against
  22. charge — electricity
  23. bark — to shout
  24. charge — in control

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