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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. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  5. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  8. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  9. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  10. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  11. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. The King held a masked ________________.
  14. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  15. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  20. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  24. My father caught me by the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. fan — to cool the air
  3. field — a subject
  4. vault — in gymnastics
  5. track — a path
  6. tear — from crying
  7. vault — a safe
  8. track — to keep track
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. arm — a part of something
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. degree — from a university
  13. ball — a dance
  14. track — a song
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. field — farmland
  17. tear — to rip
  18. degree — temperature
  19. ball — a great time
  20. ball — a round shape
  21. degree — an amount
  22. field — for sport
  23. vault — an arched ceiling
  24. arm — part of the body

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