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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. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  7. That must've been a ________________.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  10. You don't need to ________________ round.
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  13. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  14. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  15. What do you think of the new ________________?
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. We're almost out of ________________.
  21. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  22. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. last — to go on
  3. pop — music
  4. cell — a phone
  5. field — for sport
  6. cabinet — a cupboard
  7. rush — a thrill
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. dip — to sink
  10. pop — to visit
  11. last — final
  12. dip — to dunk
  13. cabinet — ministers
  14. rush — hurry
  15. cabinet — ministers
  16. field — a subject
  17. tear — to rip
  18. tear — from crying
  19. last — finally
  20. pop — soda
  21. dip — a sauce
  22. rush — to hurry
  23. cell — in biology
  24. tear — from crying

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