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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.

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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. I can't ________________ this cold.
  2. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  20. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  23. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  24. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. stand — to bear
  2. stand — for spectators
  3. degree — an amount
  4. wind — moving air
  5. lie — an untruth
  6. chest — of your body
  7. lie — an untruth
  8. chest — a box
  9. stand — on your feet
  10. tear — to rip
  11. patient — calm and waiting
  12. degree — temperature
  13. present — the time now
  14. degree — from a university
  15. present — a gift
  16. tear — from crying
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. wind — moving air
  19. chest — of your body
  20. lie — to recline
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. present — there
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. tear — from crying

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