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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. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  5. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  6. Have you met the new head ________________?
  7. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  8. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  12. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  13. How do you ________________ your surname?
  14. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  15. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  16. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  17. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  18. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  21. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  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. tear — from crying
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. field — farmland
  4. spell — a short time
  5. pass — to spend time
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. pound — for dogs
  8. spell — magic
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. tear — from crying
  11. root — of a word
  12. pass — to succeed
  13. spell — letters
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. pass — a permit
  16. pound — a weight
  17. root — of a plant
  18. pound — to hit hard
  19. field — a subject
  20. root — the cause
  21. coach — pulled by horses
  22. tear — to rip
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  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