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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. The King held a masked ________________.
  3. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  4. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  5. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  8. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  9. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  10. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  11. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  12. How do you ________________ your surname?
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  17. That must've been a ________________.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  23. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — to rip
  2. ball — a dance
  3. rush — hurry
  4. track — a path
  5. track — a song
  6. tear — from crying
  7. hide — animal skin
  8. spell — magic
  9. ball — a round shape
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. spell — a short time
  12. spell — letters
  13. field — farmland
  14. tear — from crying
  15. field — a subject
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. rush — a thrill
  18. field — for sport
  19. ball — a great time
  20. game — wild animals
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. rush — to hurry
  23. track — to keep track
  24. game — a match

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