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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. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. I've got to change the light ________________.
  4. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  5. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  6. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  12. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  13. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  16. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  19. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. The light ________________ burned out.
  23. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. field — farmland
  3. bulb — for light
  4. bank — of a river
  5. deal — to handle
  6. deal — a big deal
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. tear — from crying
  9. tear — to rip
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. pass — a permit
  12. bank — for money
  13. deal — an agreement
  14. cold — not warm
  15. bulb — of a plant
  16. pass — to spend time
  17. cold — an illness
  18. pass — to succeed
  19. bank — for money
  20. wound — an injury
  21. field — for sport
  22. bulb — for light
  23. wound — an injury
  24. field — a subject

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