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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. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  2. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  6. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  7. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  11. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  12. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  13. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  14. Have you found your soul ________________?
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. That must've been a ________________.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  24. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. tear — from crying
  4. field — for sport
  5. fan — to cool the air
  6. scale — size or range
  7. mate — to breed
  8. wind — moving air
  9. field — a subject
  10. scale — in music
  11. track — a song
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. track — a path
  14. mate — a partner
  15. tear — from crying
  16. rush — to hurry
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. mate — a friend
  19. field — farmland
  20. rush — a thrill
  21. tear — to rip
  22. wind — moving air
  23. track — to keep track
  24. scale — for weighing

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