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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. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  2. When are we going to ________________?
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  7. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  10. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  11. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  12. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  13. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  14. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  15. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  16. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  17. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  18. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  24. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — decided
  2. land — to come down
  3. field — a subject
  4. land — ground
  5. field — farmland
  6. firm — steady
  7. pound — to hit hard
  8. field — for sport
  9. branch — of a bank
  10. face — to point toward
  11. pound — for dogs
  12. pound — a weight
  13. branch — of a tree
  14. stick — to attach or keep to
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. face — to confront
  17. face — part of the head
  18. branch — a division
  19. tear — from crying
  20. tear — to rip
  21. stick — a piece of wood
  22. land — a country
  23. tear — from crying
  24. firm — a company

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