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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. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  2. The ________________ went through the wall.
  3. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  4. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  13. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  23. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  24. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a hole
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. lean — thin
  4. lean — to bend
  5. tear — from crying
  6. face — part of the head
  7. field — a subject
  8. wound — an injury
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. tear — from crying
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. nail — on a finger
  14. wound — an injury
  15. pit — in a race
  16. field — farmland
  17. pit — a fruit stone
  18. tear — to rip
  19. field — for sport
  20. mine — for digging
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. face — to confront
  23. face — to point toward
  24. lean — to rest against

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