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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. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  8. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  19. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  20. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  23. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — a permit
  2. field — farmland
  3. kick — a thrill
  4. march — the month
  5. fork — in a road
  6. tear — from crying
  7. fork — a garden tool
  8. kick — with a leg
  9. spring — a coil
  10. tear — to rip
  11. pass — to succeed
  12. tear — from crying
  13. field — for sport
  14. march — the month
  15. fork — to eat with
  16. march — music
  17. spring — of water
  18. cue — for pool
  19. cue — a hint
  20. kick — in football
  21. field — a subject
  22. pass — to spend time
  23. cue — a signal
  24. spring — the season

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