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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. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. My mare is ________________ in color.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. You don't need to ________________ round.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. We're almost out of ________________.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  20. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  21. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  22. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  23. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  24. He is an ace ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. march — music
  4. bay — a part of the sea
  5. wind — moving air
  6. tear — from crying
  7. field — farmland
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. squash — the sport
  10. wind — moving air
  11. squash — to crush
  12. field — for sport
  13. bay — a horse colour
  14. tear — to rip
  15. pop — to visit
  16. march — the month
  17. pop — soda
  18. tear — from crying
  19. bay — to keep at bay
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. squash — the vegetable
  22. march — the month
  23. pop — music
  24. pitcher — in baseball

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