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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 124 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. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  2. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  5. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  9. That must've been a ________________.
  10. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. My father caught me by the ________________.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. The ________________ went through the wall.
  16. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  23. He is an ace ________________.
  24. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — to rip
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. field — for sport
  4. rush — to hurry
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. field — farmland
  7. mine — for digging
  8. nail — on a finger
  9. rush — a thrill
  10. rush — hurry
  11. tear — from crying
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. tear — from crying
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. arm — a part of something
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. land — ground
  19. land — a country
  20. field — a subject
  21. land — to come down
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. pitcher — in baseball
  24. arm — part of the body

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