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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. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  2. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  3. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  8. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  9. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  10. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  11. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  17. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  18. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. Did you ________________ the meat?
  23. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  24. I'll be taking the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — thin
  2. season — of the year
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. tear — from crying
  5. tear — from crying
  6. capital — money
  7. vault — a safe
  8. patient — calm and waiting
  9. lean — to rest against
  10. tube — in a tire
  11. vault — an arched ceiling
  12. chest — of your body
  13. chest — a box
  14. capital — a city
  15. tear — to rip
  16. lean — to bend
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. season — in sport
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. tube — a container
  21. chest — of your body
  22. season — to add flavour
  23. vault — in gymnastics
  24. tube — the underground

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