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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 felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  2. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  3. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. What do you think of the new ________________?
  9. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  10. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  11. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  14. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  17. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  18. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  21. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  22. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  23. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  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. chest — of your body
  2. firm — decided
  3. bear — to put up with
  4. tear — to rip
  5. root — the cause
  6. field — for sport
  7. chest — a box
  8. cabinet — ministers
  9. root — of a word
  10. root — of a plant
  11. firm — a company
  12. field — farmland
  13. hide — animal skin
  14. bear — the animal
  15. tear — from crying
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. cabinet — a cupboard
  18. cabinet — ministers
  19. field — a subject
  20. chest — of your body
  21. firm — steady
  22. bear — the animal
  23. hide — to keep secret
  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