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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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Word bank
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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. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  2. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  11. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  12. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  13. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  14. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  19. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  22. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  23. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  24. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. object — to protest
  2. rest — what's left
  3. field — for sport
  4. field — farmland
  5. tear — from crying
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. field — a subject
  8. file — a document
  9. tear — to rip
  10. rest — what's left
  11. chair — a leader
  12. object — an aim
  13. toast — the most admired
  14. lean — to bend
  15. tear — from crying
  16. toast — a drink to someone
  17. file — a tool
  18. toast — bread
  19. object — a thing
  20. file — a line of people
  21. lean — thin
  22. lean — to rest against
  23. rest — a break
  24. chair — to sit on

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