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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. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  4. We're almost out of ________________.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  8. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. He works in a ________________ mill.
  13. She's very handy with a ________________.
  14. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  15. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  16. You don't need to ________________ round.
  17. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  18. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  23. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  24. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.

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. saw — past of 'see'
  4. pop — soda
  5. march — the month
  6. field — a subject
  7. pop — music
  8. calf — of the leg
  9. tear — from crying
  10. calf — a young animal
  11. march — music
  12. saw — the tool
  13. saw — the tool
  14. face — to confront
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. pop — to visit
  17. board — to get on
  18. board — a flat piece
  19. tear — to rip
  20. face — part of the head
  21. field — farmland
  22. board — a committee
  23. face — to point toward
  24. march — the month

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