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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. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  3. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. I've got to change the light ________________.
  9. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  10. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  11. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  12. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  16. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  17. The light ________________ burned out.
  18. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  19. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  20. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. pitch — a sales talk
  3. lie — an untruth
  4. field — a subject
  5. wound — an injury
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. field — for sport
  8. bulb — for light
  9. perch — the fish
  10. bark — a dog's sound
  11. bark — to shout
  12. bulb — of a plant
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. wound — an injury
  15. pitch — completely
  16. lie — an untruth
  17. bulb — for light
  18. lie — to recline
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. bark — of a tree
  21. tear — to rip
  22. pitch — a sports field
  23. tear — from crying
  24. field — farmland

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