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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. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  3. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  4. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  5. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  6. My mare is ________________ in color.
  7. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. This piece is in a major ________________.
  11. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. The ________________ took off on time.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  18. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  23. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — to rip
  2. pit — a fruit stone
  3. plane — a tool
  4. key — for a lock
  5. bay — to keep at bay
  6. bay — a horse colour
  7. key — the most important part
  8. kid — to tease
  9. field — farmland
  10. key — in music
  11. pit — a hole
  12. field — a subject
  13. pit — in a race
  14. tear — from crying
  15. plane — an aircraft
  16. field — for sport
  17. wake — before a funeral
  18. wake — to stop sleeping
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. wake — a trail
  21. tear — from crying
  22. bay — a part of the sea
  23. plane — in geometry
  24. kid — child

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