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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. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  7. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  10. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  13. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  14. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  15. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. That was ________________ to happen.
  18. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  19. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  20. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  21. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  22. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  24. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. fork — to eat with
  3. tear — from crying
  4. leaves — lets stay
  5. spell — letters
  6. bound — obliged
  7. spell — a short time
  8. field — for sport
  9. leaves — to go away
  10. spell — magic
  11. tear — to rip
  12. chair — to sit on
  13. fork — a garden tool
  14. pass — to succeed
  15. chair — a professorship
  16. field — farmland
  17. bound — certain
  18. leaves — of a tree
  19. chair — a leader
  20. fork — in a road
  21. pass — a permit
  22. pass — to spend time
  23. tear — from crying
  24. bound — tied together

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