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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 116 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. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  2. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. The ________________ went through the wall.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  15. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  16. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  17. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  18. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  19. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  22. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  23. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  24. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. bark — a dog's sound
  3. tear — from crying
  4. field — for sport
  5. tear — to rip
  6. rest — a break
  7. tear — from crying
  8. bark — to shout
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. game — wild animals
  11. game — a match
  12. nail — on a finger
  13. field — farmland
  14. rest — what's left
  15. object — a thing
  16. rest — what's left
  17. root — of a word
  18. bark — of a tree
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. field — a subject
  21. object — an aim
  22. root — the cause
  23. root — of a plant
  24. object — to protest

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