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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. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. That must've been a ________________.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. That was ________________ to happen.
  10. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  11. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  12. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  13. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  14. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  15. He is an ace ________________.
  16. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  17. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  21. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  22. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  23. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  24. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. bowl — a football final
  3. tear — from crying
  4. field — a subject
  5. rush — a thrill
  6. tear — to rip
  7. track — to keep track
  8. field — farmland
  9. bound — certain
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. branch — a division
  12. bound — obliged
  13. rush — hurry
  14. bowl — to roll
  15. pitcher — in baseball
  16. bound — tied together
  17. branch — of a tree
  18. tear — from crying
  19. field — for sport
  20. rush — to hurry
  21. track — a song
  22. branch — of a bank
  23. bowl — a dish
  24. track — a path

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