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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. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  9. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  10. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — the animal
  2. field — a subject
  3. wound — an injury
  4. file — a line of people
  5. tear — from crying
  6. bear — the animal
  7. wind — moving air
  8. bear — to put up with
  9. mouse — the animal
  10. bowl — a football final
  11. file — a document
  12. tear — to rip
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. mouse — for a computer
  15. wind — moving air
  16. bowl — to roll
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. bowl — a dish
  19. wound — an injury
  20. field — for sport
  21. file — a tool
  22. mouse — the animal
  23. tear — from crying
  24. field — farmland

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