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

  1. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  2. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  6. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  13. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  18. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.

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

Answer key

  1. safe — out of danger
  2. tear — to rip
  3. field — for sport
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. foot — a measure
  6. foot — part of the body
  7. tear — from crying
  8. field — a subject
  9. bat — the animal
  10. firm — steady
  11. tear — from crying
  12. safe — a strongbox
  13. firm — a company
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. firm — decided
  16. field — farmland
  17. foot — the bottom
  18. safe — out of danger

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