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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. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  9. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  14. He works in a ________________ mill.
  15. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  18. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  19. She's very handy with a ________________.
  20. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  21. I'll be taking the ________________.
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  24. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. tear — from crying
  3. tear — to rip
  4. saw — past of 'see'
  5. field — for sport
  6. present — there
  7. field — a subject
  8. lean — thin
  9. present — the time now
  10. spring — a coil
  11. row — to paddle
  12. tear — from crying
  13. lean — to rest against
  14. saw — the tool
  15. lean — to bend
  16. field — farmland
  17. present — a gift
  18. row — a quarrel
  19. saw — the tool
  20. tube — a container
  21. tube — the underground
  22. spring — of water
  23. tube — in a tire
  24. row — a line

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