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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. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  14. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  17. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  21. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  22. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  24. There's a computer ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. field — a subject
  3. safe — a strongbox
  4. tear — to rip
  5. chip — to eat
  6. tear — from crying
  7. field — for sport
  8. pitch — a sports field
  9. tear — from crying
  10. pitch — a sales talk
  11. field — farmland
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. safe — out of danger
  14. bowl — a dish
  15. march — music
  16. safe — out of danger
  17. pitch — completely
  18. march — the month
  19. shower — rain
  20. bowl — a football final
  21. bowl — to roll
  22. chip — for betting
  23. march — the month
  24. chip — in a computer

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