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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. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. The King held a masked ________________.
  16. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  17. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  18. That was ________________ to happen.
  19. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — to turn a key
  2. field — a subject
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. tear — from crying
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. wound — an injury
  7. field — for sport
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. wound — an injury
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. field — farmland
  13. bound — obliged
  14. wind — moving air
  15. ball — a dance
  16. bark — to shout
  17. ball — a great time
  18. bound — certain
  19. bound — tied together
  20. tear — to rip
  21. ball — a round shape
  22. tear — from crying
  23. wind — moving air
  24. stick — to attach or keep to

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