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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 124 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. What do you think of the new ________________?
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  4. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  12. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  13. There's no middle ________________.
  14. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. That was ________________ to happen.
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  20. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  21. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  22. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  23. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — ministers
  2. chest — of your body
  3. lean — to rest against
  4. bound — obliged
  5. tear — to rip
  6. tear — from crying
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. mine — for digging
  11. cabinet — a cupboard
  12. stem — a stem cell
  13. ground — a position
  14. lean — to bend
  15. chest — of your body
  16. bound — certain
  17. chest — a box
  18. tear — from crying
  19. stem — of a plant
  20. lean — thin
  21. stem — to come from
  22. ground — crushed
  23. bound — tied together
  24. ground — the earth

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