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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. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  5. It's one o'clock ________________.
  6. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  9. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. The King held a masked ________________.
  12. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  13. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  16. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  17. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  18. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  19. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. tear — from crying
  4. club — for golf
  5. sharp — exactly
  6. fall — to drop
  7. field — for sport
  8. sharp — with an edge
  9. object — to protest
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. ball — a dance
  12. object — a thing
  13. fall — to drop
  14. tear — to rip
  15. fall — the season
  16. club — a group
  17. sharp — clever
  18. object — an aim
  19. ball — a great time
  20. field — farmland
  21. club — for dancing
  22. mine — for digging
  23. ball — a round shape
  24. field — a subject

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