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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. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  9. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  13. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  14. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  18. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  21. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  24. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.

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

Answer key

  1. lie — an untruth
  2. spring — the season
  3. chest — of your body
  4. tear — from crying
  5. squash — the sport
  6. spring — of water
  7. chest — a box
  8. present — the time now
  9. squash — the vegetable
  10. field — for sport
  11. tear — to rip
  12. squash — to crush
  13. leaves — to go away
  14. present — a gift
  15. spring — a coil
  16. field — a subject
  17. lie — to recline
  18. lie — an untruth
  19. field — farmland
  20. leaves — of a tree
  21. chest — of your body
  22. tear — from crying
  23. present — there
  24. leaves — lets stay

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