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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 116 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. There's no middle ________________.
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  14. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  15. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  16. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  17. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  24. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.

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

Answer key

  1. lie — an untruth
  2. ground — a position
  3. snap — to click
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. stick — to attach or keep to
  6. tear — from crying
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. field — a subject
  9. tear — from crying
  10. mine — for digging
  11. can — to be able to
  12. ground — the earth
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. snap — to speak sharply
  15. lie — to recline
  16. snap — to snap out of it
  17. ground — crushed
  18. field — for sport
  19. can — a tin
  20. field — farmland
  21. stick — a piece of wood
  22. tear — to rip
  23. can — a tin
  24. lie — an untruth

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