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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. The ________________ took off on time.
  2. That must've been a ________________.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  5. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  6. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  7. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  8. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  13. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  14. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. I'll be taking the ________________.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  21. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. My father caught me by the ________________.
  24. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. plane — an aircraft
  2. rush — a thrill
  3. field — a subject
  4. tube — a container
  5. bear — the animal
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. rush — to hurry
  8. bear — the animal
  9. tear — from crying
  10. plane — a tool
  11. court — for sport
  12. arm — a part of something
  13. rush — hurry
  14. tube — in a tire
  15. field — farmland
  16. court — of a king
  17. tube — the underground
  18. tear — to rip
  19. field — for sport
  20. plane — in geometry
  21. bear — to put up with
  22. tear — from crying
  23. arm — part of the body
  24. court — of law

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