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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. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  4. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  5. That must've been a ________________.
  6. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  7. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  11. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  12. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  20. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  21. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  22. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  23. The ________________ went through the wall.
  24. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. field — farmland
  3. lean — to bend
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. rush — a thrill
  6. track — a song
  7. squash — the sport
  8. land — to come down
  9. tear — to rip
  10. track — to keep track
  11. rush — hurry
  12. lean — thin
  13. tear — from crying
  14. land — ground
  15. field — for sport
  16. tear — from crying
  17. squash — to crush
  18. land — a country
  19. rush — to hurry
  20. track — a path
  21. squash — the vegetable
  22. lean — to rest against
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. nail — on a finger

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