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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. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  17. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  18. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  19. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  23. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  24. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. fan — to cool the air
  3. tear — to rip
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. race — a contest
  6. race — humankind
  7. trunk — of a car
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. race — the arms race
  10. field — a subject
  11. lash — an eyelash
  12. field — for sport
  13. tear — from crying
  14. kid — to tease
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. racket — a loud noise
  17. lash — to lash out
  18. lash — a whip stroke
  19. trunk — of an elephant
  20. kid — child
  21. tear — from crying
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. fan — a supporter

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