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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. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  4. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  5. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  6. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  7. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  8. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  11. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  17. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  18. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  19. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  20. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  21. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. field — a subject
  3. firm — decided
  4. fine — all right
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. firm — steady
  7. racket — a loud noise
  8. fine — a penalty
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. trunk — of a tree
  12. tear — from crying
  13. tear — from crying
  14. field — farmland
  15. tear — to rip
  16. root — the cause
  17. fine — high quality
  18. trunk — of an elephant
  19. root — of a plant
  20. root — of a word
  21. trunk — of a car
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. firm — a company

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