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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: tear · field · charge · clip · cabinet · lean · kid · sharp

  1. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  5. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  10. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  11. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  12. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  13. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  14. It's one o'clock ________________.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. What do you think of the new ________________?
  17. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  18. The tickets are free of ________________.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — to rip
  2. kid — to tease
  3. field — for sport
  4. cabinet — a cupboard
  5. lean — to rest against
  6. field — a subject
  7. kid — child
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. sharp — with an edge
  10. lean — to bend
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. charge — in control
  13. lean — thin
  14. sharp — exactly
  15. tear — from crying
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. sharp — clever
  18. charge — a price
  19. field — farmland
  20. clip — for paper
  21. charge — electricity
  22. clip — a video
  23. tear — from crying
  24. clip — to cut

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