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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 surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  2. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  3. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  4. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  10. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. Have you settled on a ________________?
  13. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. This piece is in a major ________________.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  21. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  22. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  24. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.

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

Answer key

  1. wave — of the sea
  2. wave — with your hand
  3. key — the most important part
  4. foot — a measure
  5. game — wild animals
  6. key — for a lock
  7. game — a match
  8. tear — from crying
  9. date — the fruit
  10. foot — the bottom
  11. field — for sport
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. tear — to rip
  15. field — a subject
  16. key — in music
  17. field — farmland
  18. bore — to tire
  19. tear — from crying
  20. foot — part of the body
  21. bore — to drill
  22. wave — a sudden rise
  23. game — a kind of play
  24. bore — gave birth

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