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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. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  3. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  4. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  5. Have you met the new head ________________?
  6. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  11. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  12. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  13. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  16. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  21. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  22. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  23. There's no middle ________________.
  24. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.

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

Answer key

  1. present — a gift
  2. lie — to recline
  3. lie — an untruth
  4. foot — the bottom
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. lean — thin
  7. cold — not warm
  8. coach — pulled by horses
  9. tear — to rip
  10. present — there
  11. lean — to rest against
  12. lean — to bend
  13. ground — crushed
  14. tear — from crying
  15. foot — part of the body
  16. ground — the earth
  17. cold — an illness
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. tear — from crying
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. present — the time now
  23. ground — a position
  24. foot — a measure

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