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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 ________________ change colour in autumn.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  5. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  6. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  7. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  10. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  11. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  12. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  13. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  14. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  15. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  16. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  17. Have you met the new head ________________?
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. David sat on the ________________.
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  24. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — to rip
  2. leaves — of a tree
  3. tear — from crying
  4. leaves — to go away
  5. face — to confront
  6. swing — music
  7. current — electric
  8. field — a subject
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. current — happening now
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. coach — pulled by horses
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. leaves — lets stay
  15. stick — to attach or keep to
  16. face — to point toward
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. field — for sport
  19. face — part of the head
  20. field — farmland
  21. swing — to play on
  22. tear — from crying
  23. current — of water
  24. swing — in golf

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