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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 stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  3. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  8. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  9. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. The ________________ took off on time.
  16. When will it ________________ you to start?
  17. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  20. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. tear — to rip
  3. cue — a hint
  4. land — to come down
  5. game — a match
  6. shower — to wash
  7. plane — a tool
  8. cue — for pool
  9. suit — in cards
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. tear — from crying
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. shower — rain
  14. tear — from crying
  15. plane — an aircraft
  16. suit — to fit
  17. plane — in geometry
  18. field — a subject
  19. suit — clothes
  20. cue — a signal
  21. land — ground
  22. field — farmland
  23. land — a country
  24. game — wild animals

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