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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. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  2. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  3. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  4. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  5. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  6. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  7. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  8. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  9. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. The tickets are free of ________________.
  12. What do you think of the new ________________?
  13. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  20. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  21. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  22. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to bend
  2. charge — electricity
  3. fall — the season
  4. fall — to drop
  5. lean — thin
  6. rock — to move gently
  7. lean — to rest against
  8. fall — to drop
  9. rock — a stone
  10. row — to paddle
  11. charge — a price
  12. cabinet — ministers
  13. row — a quarrel
  14. field — farmland
  15. charge — in control
  16. tear — from crying
  17. tear — from crying
  18. field — a subject
  19. cabinet — a cupboard
  20. rock — music
  21. row — a line
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. field — for sport
  24. tear — to rip

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