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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. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  2. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  14. I can't ________________ this cold.
  15. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  16. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  17. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  22. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  23. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  24. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.

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

Answer key

  1. lie — an untruth
  2. lie — an untruth
  3. tear — from crying
  4. spell — magic
  5. spell — letters
  6. lie — to recline
  7. field — a subject
  8. field — for sport
  9. tear — to rip
  10. tear — from crying
  11. file — a tool
  12. field — farmland
  13. branch — of a tree
  14. stand — to bear
  15. dip — to sink
  16. dip — a sauce
  17. stand — on your feet
  18. file — a line of people
  19. dip — to dunk
  20. file — a document
  21. stand — for spectators
  22. branch — of a bank
  23. branch — a division
  24. spell — a short time

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