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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. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  8. There's no middle ________________.
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. That must've been a ________________.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  17. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  18. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  21. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  24. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. rush — to hurry
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. land — to come down
  5. field — for sport
  6. tear — to rip
  7. deal — a big deal
  8. ground — a position
  9. land — a country
  10. lean — thin
  11. tear — from crying
  12. rush — a thrill
  13. field — a subject
  14. ground — the earth
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. lean — to rest against
  17. ground — crushed
  18. deal — an agreement
  19. land — ground
  20. rush — hurry
  21. lean — to bend
  22. bat — the animal
  23. deal — to handle
  24. tear — from crying

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