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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. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  4. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  5. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  11. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  12. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  13. Have you found your soul ________________?
  14. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  22. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  23. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  24. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. file — a tool
  3. wave — with your hand
  4. wound — past of 'wind'
  5. lean — thin
  6. field — a subject
  7. lean — to rest against
  8. wound — an injury
  9. tear — to rip
  10. can — to be able to
  11. mate — a friend
  12. lean — to bend
  13. mate — a partner
  14. wave — of the sea
  15. file — a document
  16. field — for sport
  17. mate — to breed
  18. wound — an injury
  19. file — a line of people
  20. field — farmland
  21. wave — a sudden rise
  22. can — a tin
  23. can — a tin
  24. tear — from crying

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