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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. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. This piece is in a major ________________.
  3. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  6. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  9. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  19. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  20. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  24. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. key — in music
  3. cap — of ice
  4. degree — from a university
  5. root — of a word
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. field — for sport
  8. stick — to attach or keep to
  9. cap — a hat
  10. tear — from crying
  11. cap — a lid
  12. degree — temperature
  13. key — for a lock
  14. degree — an amount
  15. court — of a king
  16. tear — to rip
  17. field — a subject
  18. root — of a plant
  19. key — the most important part
  20. root — the cause
  21. field — farmland
  22. court — of law
  23. court — for sport
  24. stick — a piece of wood

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