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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. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  3. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  4. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  5. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  6. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  12. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  13. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  14. That must've been a ________________.
  15. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  16. What do you think of the new ________________?
  17. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  18. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  19. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  20. That was ________________ to happen.
  21. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  22. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. rush — to hurry
  3. prune — to trim
  4. cabinet — a cupboard
  5. bound — tied together
  6. track — a song
  7. tear — from crying
  8. tear — from crying
  9. toast — a drink to someone
  10. field — farmland
  11. track — a path
  12. toast — the most admired
  13. toast — bread
  14. rush — a thrill
  15. prune — the fruit
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. bound — obliged
  18. prune — to trim
  19. track — to keep track
  20. bound — certain
  21. rush — hurry
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. tear — to rip
  24. field — for sport

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