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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. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  10. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  11. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  14. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  15. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  16. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  21. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. I assure you, everything's ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. tear — from crying
  3. field — farmland
  4. fine — high quality
  5. wind — moving air
  6. pound — to hit hard
  7. tear — from crying
  8. tear — to rip
  9. board — to get on
  10. trunk — of a car
  11. pound — for dogs
  12. wind — moving air
  13. pound — a weight
  14. trunk — of a tree
  15. fine — a penalty
  16. board — a committee
  17. field — for sport
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. board — a flat piece
  21. trunk — of an elephant
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. mine — for digging
  24. fine — all right

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