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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. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  2. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  5. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  6. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  9. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  10. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  11. David sat on the ________________.
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  17. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  18. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  19. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  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. lie — to recline
  3. net — for catching
  4. pitch — a sales talk
  5. root — the cause
  6. pitch — completely
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. wax — for sculpting
  9. wax — to grow
  10. pitch — a sports field
  11. swing — to play on
  12. cell — in biology
  13. tear — from crying
  14. wax — in the ear
  15. cell — a phone
  16. root — of a word
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. root — of a plant
  19. lie — an untruth
  20. net — in sport
  21. swing — music
  22. tear — from crying
  23. net — after costs
  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