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

  1. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  7. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  8. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  17. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  18. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. foot — part of the body
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. fall — to drop
  5. capital — money
  6. bowl — to roll
  7. foot — the bottom
  8. foot — a measure
  9. field — farmland
  10. field — a subject
  11. fall — to drop
  12. capital — a city
  13. tear — to rip
  14. field — for sport
  15. tear — from crying
  16. bowl — a dish
  17. bowl — a football final
  18. fall — the season

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