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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. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. You don't need to ________________ round.
  4. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  5. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  6. We're almost out of ________________.
  7. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  8. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  17. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  18. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  19. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  20. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  21. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. field — for sport
  3. pop — to visit
  4. race — the arms race
  5. deal — to handle
  6. pop — soda
  7. deal — a big deal
  8. wax — to grow
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. field — farmland
  11. wax — for sculpting
  12. race — humankind
  13. tear — from crying
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. field — a subject
  16. mouse — the animal
  17. race — a contest
  18. pop — music
  19. mouse — the animal
  20. deal — an agreement
  21. wax — in the ear
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. mouse — for a computer
  24. tear — to rip

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