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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. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  7. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  8. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  11. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  12. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  13. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  17. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  18. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  22. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  23. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. pound — a weight
  3. field — a subject
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. clip — to cut
  6. foot — the bottom
  7. rock — a stone
  8. pound — to hit hard
  9. field — farmland
  10. rock — to move gently
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. rock — music
  13. foot — a measure
  14. tear — to rip
  15. tear — from crying
  16. foot — part of the body
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. pound — for dogs
  19. field — for sport
  20. clip — for paper
  21. hide — animal skin
  22. hide — to keep secret
  23. stick — to attach or keep to
  24. clip — a video

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