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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. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  3. The King held a masked ________________.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  8. We're almost out of ________________.
  9. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  10. You don't need to ________________ round.
  11. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  14. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  17. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  20. He is an ace ________________.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  23. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. file — a line of people
  3. ball — a dance
  4. field — farmland
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. file — a tool
  7. bear — the animal
  8. pop — soda
  9. ball — a round shape
  10. pop — to visit
  11. bear — the animal
  12. tear — from crying
  13. bear — to put up with
  14. pop — music
  15. file — a document
  16. ball — a great time
  17. present — the time now
  18. tear — from crying
  19. present — a gift
  20. pitcher — in baseball
  21. field — for sport
  22. present — there
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. tear — to rip

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