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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. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  3. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  4. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  12. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  13. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  16. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  19. Don't do anything ________________.
  20. Did you ________________ the meat?
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  23. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  24. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. file — a line of people
  3. rash — on the skin
  4. kick — a thrill
  5. field — for sport
  6. season — in sport
  7. file — a tool
  8. mouse — for a computer
  9. field — farmland
  10. file — a document
  11. season — of the year
  12. mouse — the animal
  13. kick — with a leg
  14. tear — to rip
  15. wave — a sudden rise
  16. mouse — the animal
  17. tear — from crying
  18. rash — a series
  19. rash — hasty
  20. season — to add flavour
  21. field — a subject
  22. wave — with your hand
  23. wave — of the sea
  24. kick — in football

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