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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. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  5. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. He is an ace ________________.
  8. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  9. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  10. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  13. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  18. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  19. The ball is in your ________________.
  20. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  24. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. object — to protest
  2. field — for sport
  3. field — a subject
  4. staff — employees
  5. staff — a stick
  6. tear — to rip
  7. pitcher — in baseball
  8. face — part of the head
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. field — farmland
  12. fine — all right
  13. face — to confront
  14. court — of a king
  15. staff — employees
  16. tear — from crying
  17. face — to point toward
  18. fine — high quality
  19. court — for sport
  20. object — a thing
  21. court — of law
  22. tear — from crying
  23. fine — a penalty
  24. object — an aim

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