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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. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  4. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  5. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  8. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  9. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  10. The King held a masked ________________.
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  18. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  19. He is an ace ________________.
  20. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  21. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  22. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  23. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — to rip
  2. field — for sport
  3. bark — to shout
  4. lean — thin
  5. ruler — for measuring
  6. field — a subject
  7. lean — to bend
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. ball — a dance
  11. chest — a box
  12. chest — of your body
  13. bark — a dog's sound
  14. tear — from crying
  15. ball — a great time
  16. tear — from crying
  17. ruler — for measuring
  18. ball — a round shape
  19. pitcher — in baseball
  20. ruler — a monarch
  21. chest — of your body
  22. bark — of a tree
  23. lean — to rest against
  24. field — farmland

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