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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. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  11. The ________________ took off on time.
  12. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  15. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  16. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. Where did you ________________ them?

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. tear — from crying
  3. wave — with your hand
  4. spring — the season
  5. cell — a phone
  6. spring — a coil
  7. field — farmland
  8. tear — to rip
  9. wind — moving air
  10. mug — a face
  11. plane — an aircraft
  12. plane — in geometry
  13. wind — moving air
  14. wave — a sudden rise
  15. plane — a tool
  16. wave — of the sea
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. field — for sport
  19. cell — in biology
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. mug — a cup
  22. field — a subject
  23. spring — of water
  24. mug — to rob

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