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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. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  5. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  6. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. Did you ________________ the meat?
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  20. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  21. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  22. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — to rip
  2. tear — from crying
  3. field — a subject
  4. season — of the year
  5. ruler — a monarch
  6. fine — high quality
  7. spring — the season
  8. game — a match
  9. fine — all right
  10. field — for sport
  11. game — wild animals
  12. season — to add flavour
  13. tear — from crying
  14. season — in sport
  15. spring — of water
  16. snap — to speak sharply
  17. spring — a coil
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. fine — a penalty
  20. ruler — for measuring
  21. ruler — for measuring
  22. snap — to snap out of it
  23. field — farmland
  24. snap — to click

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