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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. The ________________ took off on time.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  6. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  7. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  8. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  9. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  10. The King held a masked ________________.
  11. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  12. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  13. David sat on the ________________.
  14. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  15. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  24. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.

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

Answer key

  1. plane — an aircraft
  2. field — for sport
  3. kid — child
  4. tear — from crying
  5. ball — a great time
  6. safe — a strongbox
  7. ball — a round shape
  8. safe — out of danger
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. ball — a dance
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. stick — to attach or keep to
  13. swing — to play on
  14. plane — in geometry
  15. safe — out of danger
  16. field — a subject
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. kid — to tease
  19. swing — in golf
  20. tear — to rip
  21. field — farmland
  22. plane — a tool
  23. tear — from crying
  24. swing — music

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