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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. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  6. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  7. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  8. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  17. The ball is in your ________________.
  18. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  19. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  23. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. stem — to come from
  3. mark — to pay attention
  4. court — of law
  5. pit — a fruit stone
  6. chip — to eat
  7. stem — of a plant
  8. chip — in a computer
  9. file — a line of people
  10. file — a tool
  11. file — a document
  12. tear — from crying
  13. mark — a trace
  14. field — for sport
  15. court — of a king
  16. pit — in a race
  17. court — for sport
  18. pit — a hole
  19. stem — a stem cell
  20. field — a subject
  21. field — farmland
  22. mark — a grade
  23. chip — for betting
  24. tear — to rip

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