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

  1. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  4. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  5. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  6. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  7. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  11. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  12. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  16. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  17. There's no middle ________________.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. field — farmland
  3. trunk — of a car
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. stick — to attach or keep to
  6. trunk — of an elephant
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. field — a subject
  9. tear — to rip
  10. current — electric
  11. current — happening now
  12. trunk — of a tree
  13. tear — from crying
  14. tear — from crying
  15. current — of water
  16. ground — the earth
  17. ground — a position
  18. field — for sport

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