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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. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  5. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  6. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  7. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  8. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  9. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  10. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. Where did you ________________ them?
  14. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  20. What do you think of the new ________________?
  21. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  24. He is as ________________ as a wolf.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. field — for sport
  4. current — of water
  5. mug — a face
  6. mug — a cup
  7. current — electric
  8. cabinet — a cupboard
  9. pit — in a race
  10. lean — to bend
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. mug — to rob
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. tear — from crying
  16. field — a subject
  17. current — happening now
  18. tear — to rip
  19. pit — a hole
  20. cabinet — ministers
  21. pit — a fruit stone
  22. field — farmland
  23. lean — to rest against
  24. lean — thin

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