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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 116 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. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  3. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  4. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  5. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  8. That was ________________ to happen.
  9. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  10. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  11. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  12. What do you think of the new ________________?
  13. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  18. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  19. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  22. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  23. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  24. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — to rip
  2. lash — to lash out
  3. bound — obliged
  4. can — a tin
  5. lean — to bend
  6. field — for sport
  7. can — a tin
  8. bound — certain
  9. can — to be able to
  10. lean — thin
  11. dip — to sink
  12. cabinet — ministers
  13. dip — a sauce
  14. field — a subject
  15. tear — from crying
  16. field — farmland
  17. cabinet — a cupboard
  18. dip — to dunk
  19. lash — an eyelash
  20. tear — from crying
  21. cabinet — ministers
  22. bound — tied together
  23. lash — a whip stroke
  24. lean — to rest against

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