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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. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  7. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  8. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  9. I've got to change the light ________________.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. It's one o'clock ________________.
  18. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  19. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  20. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  23. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  24. The light ________________ burned out.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — clever
  2. field — a subject
  3. tear — to rip
  4. kick — in football
  5. tear — from crying
  6. kick — with a leg
  7. sharp — with an edge
  8. foot — the bottom
  9. bulb — for light
  10. march — music
  11. march — the month
  12. field — for sport
  13. foot — part of the body
  14. march — the month
  15. foot — a measure
  16. field — farmland
  17. sharp — exactly
  18. kick — a thrill
  19. prune — to trim
  20. bulb — of a plant
  21. tear — from crying
  22. prune — the fruit
  23. prune — to trim
  24. bulb — for light

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