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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. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  2. When are we going to ________________?
  3. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  11. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. I can't ________________ this cold.
  16. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  17. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  18. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. It's one o'clock ________________.
  21. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — to rip
  2. land — to come down
  3. content — the amount
  4. stand — on your feet
  5. field — for sport
  6. tear — from crying
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. field — a subject
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. root — of a word
  11. sharp — clever
  12. content — happy
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. land — ground
  15. stand — to bear
  16. sharp — with an edge
  17. root — of a plant
  18. stand — for spectators
  19. field — farmland
  20. sharp — exactly
  21. perch — the fish
  22. tear — from crying
  23. root — the cause
  24. land — a country

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