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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. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  3. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  4. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  5. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  8. He is an ace ________________.
  9. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  12. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  13. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  16. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  17. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  18. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. Have you found your soul ________________?
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  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. pitcher — a jug
  3. pound — a weight
  4. mate — to breed
  5. pound — to hit hard
  6. field — for sport
  7. foot — a measure
  8. pitcher — in baseball
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. last — to go on
  11. root — the cause
  12. pound — for dogs
  13. root — of a plant
  14. last — final
  15. foot — the bottom
  16. mate — a friend
  17. foot — part of the body
  18. root — of a word
  19. tear — from crying
  20. mate — a partner
  21. last — finally
  22. tear — from crying
  23. field — a subject
  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