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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. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  2. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  9. That must've been a ________________.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  12. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  23. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  24. There's a computer ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — a straw man
  2. fall — to drop
  3. field — for sport
  4. rush — hurry
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. firm — a company
  7. tear — from crying
  8. cell — in biology
  9. rush — a thrill
  10. tear — to rip
  11. chip — to eat
  12. fall — the season
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. field — farmland
  15. chip — for betting
  16. tear — from crying
  17. fall — to drop
  18. cell — a phone
  19. field — a subject
  20. rush — to hurry
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. firm — decided
  23. firm — steady
  24. chip — in a computer

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