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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. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  4. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  9. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  10. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  15. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  16. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  17. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  18. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  19. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. The King held a masked ________________.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  24. The kitten curled into a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. tear — from crying
  3. track — to keep track
  4. track — a path
  5. court — of a king
  6. rest — what's left
  7. field — a subject
  8. wake — before a funeral
  9. face — to point toward
  10. track — a song
  11. court — for sport
  12. field — for sport
  13. field — farmland
  14. rest — what's left
  15. ball — a great time
  16. face — to confront
  17. wake — a trail
  18. rest — a break
  19. wake — to stop sleeping
  20. tear — to rip
  21. ball — a dance
  22. court — of law
  23. face — part of the head
  24. ball — a round shape

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