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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. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  5. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  6. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  11. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  12. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  15. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  22. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  23. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  24. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. board — a flat piece
  3. mine — for digging
  4. scale — in music
  5. kick — with a leg
  6. scale — for weighing
  7. field — a subject
  8. field — for sport
  9. field — farmland
  10. can — a tin
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. kick — in football
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. patient — calm and waiting
  15. board — to get on
  16. tear — to rip
  17. board — a committee
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. scale — size or range
  20. tear — from crying
  21. can — to be able to
  22. kick — a thrill
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. can — a tin

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