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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 116 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. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  5. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  6. Have you found your soul ________________?
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  12. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  13. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  17. Did you ________________ the meat?
  18. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  19. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  20. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  23. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  24. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. field — for sport
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. season — of the year
  5. row — to paddle
  6. mate — a partner
  7. field — farmland
  8. squash — the sport
  9. squash — to crush
  10. field — a subject
  11. chair — a leader
  12. mate — a friend
  13. season — in sport
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. tear — to rip
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. season — to add flavour
  18. mate — to breed
  19. row — a line
  20. chair — to sit on
  21. tear — from crying
  22. squash — the vegetable
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. perch — the fish

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