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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 120 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. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. The light ________________ burned out.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  7. I've got to change the light ________________.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  13. The tickets are free of ________________.
  14. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. My mare is ________________ in color.
  17. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  24. Where can I ________________ my mobile?

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. tear — from crying
  3. bulb — for light
  4. field — a subject
  5. tear — from crying
  6. charge — in control
  7. bulb — for light
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. bay — to keep at bay
  10. game — a match
  11. field — farmland
  12. stem — to come from
  13. charge — a price
  14. bulb — of a plant
  15. tear — to rip
  16. bay — a horse colour
  17. stem — a stem cell
  18. game — wild animals
  19. stem — of a plant
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. bay — a part of the sea
  23. game — a kind of play
  24. charge — electricity

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