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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. What do you think of the new ________________?
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  8. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  9. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. He works in a ________________ mill.
  12. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  13. Have you found your soul ________________?
  14. She's very handy with a ________________.
  15. My father caught me by the ________________.
  16. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  17. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  18. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  19. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  22. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  24. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — ministers
  2. tear — from crying
  3. field — farmland
  4. field — a subject
  5. chest — a box
  6. chest — of your body
  7. mate — to breed
  8. cabinet — a cupboard
  9. mate — a friend
  10. tear — to rip
  11. saw — the tool
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. mate — a partner
  14. saw — the tool
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. cabinet — ministers
  19. arm — a part of something
  20. field — for sport
  21. saw — past of 'see'
  22. perch — the fish
  23. tear — from crying
  24. chest — of your body

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