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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. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  4. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  5. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  10. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  13. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  14. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  15. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  18. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  21. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  22. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — a permit
  2. shower — to wash
  3. shower — rain
  4. scale — for weighing
  5. dip — to sink
  6. field — for sport
  7. dip — to dunk
  8. field — farmland
  9. fine — all right
  10. fine — a penalty
  11. field — a subject
  12. scale — size or range
  13. present — a gift
  14. fine — high quality
  15. pass — to spend time
  16. tear — from crying
  17. pass — to succeed
  18. present — the time now
  19. tear — to rip
  20. scale — in music
  21. dip — a sauce
  22. present — there
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  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