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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. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  2. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  8. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  9. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  12. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  13. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  14. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  19. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  20. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  23. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — a loud noise
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. shower — to wash
  4. fine — high quality
  5. field — a subject
  6. tear — to rip
  7. bear — the animal
  8. fine — all right
  9. stick — to attach or keep to
  10. tear — from crying
  11. bear — to put up with
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. bear — the animal
  15. field — for sport
  16. tear — from crying
  17. drill — the tool
  18. drill — a practice
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. stick — a piece of wood
  21. shower — rain
  22. fine — a penalty
  23. drill — army training
  24. field — farmland

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