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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. She's very handy with a ________________.
  2. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  3. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  4. He works in a ________________ mill.
  5. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  6. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  7. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  8. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  9. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  12. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  13. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  22. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  23. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  24. He is an ace ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. bank — of a river
  4. saw — the tool
  5. stick — to attach or keep to
  6. lean — to bend
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. hide — animal skin
  9. bank — for money
  10. field — for sport
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. lean — to rest against
  13. saw — past of 'see'
  14. tear — to rip
  15. tear — from crying
  16. lean — thin
  17. tear — from crying
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. field — farmland
  20. field — a subject
  21. stick — a piece of wood
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. bank — for money
  24. pitcher — in baseball

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