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

Word bank: lie · board · fork · stem · current · tear · chest · mine

  1. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  3. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  7. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  8. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  11. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  12. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  19. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  23. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  24. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. fork — to eat with
  3. lie — to recline
  4. mine — for digging
  5. tear — to rip
  6. current — electric
  7. board — to get on
  8. lie — an untruth
  9. tear — from crying
  10. stem — to come from
  11. current — of water
  12. fork — in a road
  13. chest — of your body
  14. board — a committee
  15. chest — of your body
  16. current — happening now
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. board — a flat piece
  19. stem — a stem cell
  20. chest — a box
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. fork — a garden tool
  23. lie — an untruth
  24. stem — of a plant

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