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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. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  5. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  6. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  9. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  10. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  14. The ________________ took off on time.
  15. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  18. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  19. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. What do you think of the new ________________?
  23. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  24. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. tear — from crying
  4. plane — in geometry
  5. hide — animal skin
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. field — for sport
  8. plane — a tool
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. tear — from crying
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. cabinet — a cupboard
  14. plane — an aircraft
  15. fan — to cool the air
  16. tear — to rip
  17. chip — to eat
  18. chip — in a computer
  19. chip — for betting
  20. mine — for digging
  21. field — a subject
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. hide — to keep secret
  24. cabinet — ministers

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