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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 120 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. This piece is in a major ________________.
  2. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  5. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  13. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  22. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  23. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  24. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.

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

Answer key

  1. key — in music
  2. row — to paddle
  3. tear — from crying
  4. key — the most important part
  5. cue — a hint
  6. wind — moving air
  7. key — for a lock
  8. field — a subject
  9. wind — moving air
  10. cue — a signal
  11. tear — from crying
  12. fork — a garden tool
  13. band — a ring
  14. field — for sport
  15. band — a music group
  16. field — farmland
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. tear — to rip
  19. fork — in a road
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. row — a line
  22. cue — for pool
  23. row — a quarrel
  24. fork — to eat with

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