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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. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. We're on a ________________ here.
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  11. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  15. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  18. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  19. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  20. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  21. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — to rip
  2. tear — from crying
  3. roll — on a roll
  4. content — the amount
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. scale — in music
  7. field — a subject
  8. last — finally
  9. content — happy
  10. roll — a cake
  11. pound — to hit hard
  12. last — to go on
  13. tear — from crying
  14. roll — a list
  15. racket — a loud noise
  16. field — for sport
  17. pound — for dogs
  18. scale — for weighing
  19. pound — a weight
  20. scale — size or range
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. last — final
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. field — farmland

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