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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. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  4. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  7. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  11. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  12. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  13. Have you met the new head ________________?
  14. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  17. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  18. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  19. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  22. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  23. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  24. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — to rip
  2. field — farmland
  3. scale — size or range
  4. trunk — of a car
  5. field — for sport
  6. coach — pulled by horses
  7. staff — employees
  8. tear — from crying
  9. field — a subject
  10. stick — to attach or keep to
  11. staff — a stick
  12. wake — to stop sleeping
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. scale — for weighing
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. trunk — of an elephant
  17. staff — employees
  18. stick — a piece of wood
  19. scale — in music
  20. tear — from crying
  21. wake — a trail
  22. stick — a piece of wood
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. wake — before a funeral

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