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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 116 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 broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. I've got to change the light ________________.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. The light ________________ burned out.
  10. The ________________ went through the wall.
  11. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  12. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  19. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  20. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — on a finger
  2. field — for sport
  3. band — a ring
  4. tear — to rip
  5. bulb — of a plant
  6. band — a music group
  7. bulb — for light
  8. land — ground
  9. bulb — for light
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. track — a path
  12. track — to keep track
  13. field — farmland
  14. tear — from crying
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. field — a subject
  17. tear — from crying
  18. calf — a young animal
  19. track — a song
  20. calf — of the leg
  21. land — to come down
  22. calf — a young animal
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. land — a country

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