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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. We're on a ________________ here.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  8. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  9. The King held a masked ________________.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  13. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  14. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  15. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  20. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  21. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — on a roll
  2. tear — from crying
  3. field — farmland
  4. hand — in cards
  5. firm — steady
  6. file — a line of people
  7. club — a group
  8. club — for golf
  9. ball — a dance
  10. field — for sport
  11. tear — from crying
  12. ball — a round shape
  13. ball — a great time
  14. roll — a cake
  15. club — for dancing
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. hand — help
  18. field — a subject
  19. firm — a company
  20. roll — a list
  21. firm — decided
  22. file — a tool
  23. tear — to rip
  24. file — a document

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