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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. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  2. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  3. You don't need to ________________ round.
  4. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  10. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. Where did you ________________ them?
  13. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  14. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  17. We're almost out of ________________.
  18. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  19. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  20. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  23. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. lie — an untruth
  2. fall — to drop
  3. pop — to visit
  4. mug — a face
  5. row — a line
  6. field — a subject
  7. tear — from crying
  8. tear — from crying
  9. row — to paddle
  10. fall — the season
  11. field — farmland
  12. mug — to rob
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. race — a contest
  15. race — the arms race
  16. lie — to recline
  17. pop — soda
  18. mug — a cup
  19. race — humankind
  20. row — a quarrel
  21. field — for sport
  22. fall — to drop
  23. pop — music
  24. tear — to rip

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