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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. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  7. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  8. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  9. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  10. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  13. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  14. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  15. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  16. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  17. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  20. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. can — a tin
  3. tear — from crying
  4. dip — a sauce
  5. field — for sport
  6. can — a tin
  7. fork — a garden tool
  8. club — for golf
  9. dip — to dunk
  10. march — the month
  11. field — a subject
  12. club — for dancing
  13. can — to be able to
  14. mouse — for a computer
  15. dip — to sink
  16. club — a group
  17. fork — in a road
  18. tear — from crying
  19. fork — to eat with
  20. mouse — the animal
  21. march — the month
  22. tear — to rip
  23. march — music
  24. mouse — the animal

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