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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. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  4. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  5. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  6. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  7. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  8. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  18. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  19. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  24. How do you ________________ your surname?

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

Answer key

  1. drill — the tool
  2. field — a subject
  3. drill — a practice
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. spell — magic
  6. hide — animal skin
  7. spell — a short time
  8. pitch — a sales talk
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. pitch — a sports field
  11. tear — from crying
  12. drill — army training
  13. bat — the animal
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. tear — to rip
  17. pitch — completely
  18. fine — a penalty
  19. fine — all right
  20. field — for sport
  21. tear — from crying
  22. field — farmland
  23. fine — high quality
  24. spell — letters

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