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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.

Words on the sheet
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Word bank
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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. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  11. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  12. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  13. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  14. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  15. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  18. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  19. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  20. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  23. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  24. The polar ice ________________ is melting.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — to rip
  2. chair — to sit on
  3. prune — to trim
  4. present — there
  5. field — a subject
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. chair — a leader
  8. field — farmland
  9. tear — from crying
  10. face — to point toward
  11. vault — a safe
  12. vault — an arched ceiling
  13. cap — a lid
  14. present — the time now
  15. cap — a hat
  16. tear — from crying
  17. face — part of the head
  18. prune — to trim
  19. prune — the fruit
  20. face — to confront
  21. field — for sport
  22. present — a gift
  23. vault — in gymnastics
  24. cap — of ice

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