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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: patient · tear · pit · lie · vault · chest · field · cabinet

  1. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  6. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  9. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  10. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  16. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  17. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  18. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  19. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  20. What do you think of the new ________________?
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  23. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  24. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. pit — in a race
  3. tear — to rip
  4. chest — a box
  5. lie — an untruth
  6. pit — a fruit stone
  7. chest — of your body
  8. pit — a hole
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. field — farmland
  12. field — for sport
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. tear — from crying
  15. cabinet — ministers
  16. patient — calm and waiting
  17. cabinet — a cupboard
  18. vault — an arched ceiling
  19. vault — in gymnastics
  20. cabinet — ministers
  21. field — a subject
  22. chest — of your body
  23. vault — a safe
  24. lie — to recline

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