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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. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. Have you found your soul ________________?
  9. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  14. David sat on the ________________.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  17. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  18. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  19. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  24. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — videos and posts
  2. tear — from crying
  3. field — for sport
  4. wave — a sudden rise
  5. tear — from crying
  6. mate — to breed
  7. field — farmland
  8. mate — a partner
  9. swing — in golf
  10. tear — to rip
  11. swing — music
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. drill — a practice
  14. swing — to play on
  15. field — a subject
  16. wave — with your hand
  17. drill — army training
  18. wave — of the sea
  19. drill — the tool
  20. bat — the animal
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. content — the amount
  23. mate — a friend
  24. content — happy

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