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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. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  3. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  7. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  8. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  13. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  14. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  15. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  20. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  23. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  24. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. rock — music
  3. content — the amount
  4. lean — to rest against
  5. tear — from crying
  6. lie — to recline
  7. lean — to bend
  8. fall — to drop
  9. content — happy
  10. rock — to move gently
  11. tear — from crying
  12. safe — out of danger
  13. safe — out of danger
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. lean — thin
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. field — a subject
  18. field — farmland
  19. fall — the season
  20. rock — a stone
  21. tear — to rip
  22. safe — a strongbox
  23. lie — an untruth
  24. fall — to drop

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