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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. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  5. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  8. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  9. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  10. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. My mare is ________________ in color.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  23. Did you ________________ the button?
  24. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. object — an aim
  3. kid — child
  4. object — to protest
  5. bay — to keep at bay
  6. tear — to rip
  7. press — newspapers
  8. squash — the vegetable
  9. press — a publisher
  10. squash — to crush
  11. shower — rain
  12. object — a thing
  13. shower — to wash
  14. tear — from crying
  15. field — for sport
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. bay — a horse colour
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. bay — a part of the sea
  20. kid — to tease
  21. field — farmland
  22. squash — the sport
  23. press — to push
  24. tear — from crying

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