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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. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  4. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  5. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  8. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  12. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  13. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  14. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  15. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. can — a tin
  2. kid — to tease
  3. can — to be able to
  4. object — an aim
  5. row — a quarrel
  6. field — a subject
  7. lie — an untruth
  8. foot — a measure
  9. tear — from crying
  10. row — to paddle
  11. object — to protest
  12. lie — an untruth
  13. can — a tin
  14. lie — to recline
  15. object — a thing
  16. field — for sport
  17. tear — to rip
  18. row — a line
  19. kid — child
  20. field — farmland
  21. foot — part of the body
  22. tear — from crying
  23. foot — the bottom
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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