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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. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  4. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. What do you think of the new ________________?
  13. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  16. Where did you ________________ them?
  17. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  20. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  24. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. field — farmland
  3. cabinet — a cupboard
  4. club — for golf
  5. tear — from crying
  6. chest — a box
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. tear — from crying
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. shower — to wash
  11. tear — to rip
  12. cabinet — ministers
  13. cabinet — ministers
  14. field — a subject
  15. club — a group
  16. mug — to rob
  17. club — for dancing
  18. chest — of your body
  19. mug — a face
  20. racket — a loud noise
  21. shower — rain
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. mug — a cup
  24. chest — of your body

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