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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.

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: field · band · tear · foot · lean · hide · net · key

  1. This piece is in a major ________________.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  4. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  7. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  8. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  9. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  10. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  11. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  12. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  13. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  14. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  23. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  24. Hard work is the ________________ to success.

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

Answer key

  1. key — in music
  2. field — a subject
  3. lean — thin
  4. lean — to bend
  5. tear — to rip
  6. net — for catching
  7. net — in sport
  8. foot — part of the body
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. net — after costs
  11. hide — animal skin
  12. foot — a measure
  13. band — a ring
  14. lean — to rest against
  15. band — a music group
  16. field — for sport
  17. foot — the bottom
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. field — farmland
  20. hide — to keep secret
  21. tear — from crying
  22. key — for a lock
  23. tear — from crying
  24. key — the most important part

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