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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 116 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. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  5. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  6. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  13. That must've been a ________________.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. My mare is ________________ in color.
  16. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  17. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  22. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  23. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. field — farmland
  3. tear — to rip
  4. board — a committee
  5. lie — to recline
  6. rush — hurry
  7. shower — rain
  8. board — a flat piece
  9. field — a subject
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. mine — for digging
  12. bay — a part of the sea
  13. rush — a thrill
  14. tear — from crying
  15. bay — a horse colour
  16. rush — to hurry
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. field — for sport
  19. tear — from crying
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. bay — to keep at bay
  23. board — to get on
  24. mine — an explosive

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