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

Word bank: row · field · fall · stem · tear · fan · foot · pit

  1. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  2. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  3. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  6. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  9. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  12. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  13. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  14. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  15. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  16. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  17. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  21. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  22. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  23. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  24. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — to rip
  2. foot — the bottom
  3. row — to paddle
  4. tear — from crying
  5. row — a quarrel
  6. fan — to cool the air
  7. tear — from crying
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. stem — to come from
  10. field — farmland
  11. pit — a fruit stone
  12. foot — a measure
  13. fall — to drop
  14. pit — a hole
  15. pit — in a race
  16. foot — part of the body
  17. row — a line
  18. field — for sport
  19. field — a subject
  20. stem — a stem cell
  21. fall — to drop
  22. fall — the season
  23. stem — of a plant
  24. fan — a supporter

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