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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. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. Have you met the new head ________________?
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  7. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  8. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  9. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  10. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  15. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  16. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  17. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  18. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  19. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  20. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  21. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  22. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  23. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. tear — from crying
  4. coach — pulled by horses
  5. field — farmland
  6. bear — the animal
  7. bear — to put up with
  8. branch — a division
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. wax — for sculpting
  11. tear — to rip
  12. pitch — completely
  13. tear — from crying
  14. branch — of a bank
  15. ruler — for measuring
  16. pitch — a sales talk
  17. pitch — a sports field
  18. wax — to grow
  19. ruler — a monarch
  20. wax — in the ear
  21. bear — the animal
  22. branch — of a tree
  23. ruler — for measuring
  24. field — for sport

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