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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. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  2. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  3. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  4. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  5. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  6. He is an ace ________________.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  10. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  13. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  17. The ball is in your ________________.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  23. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  24. ________________ you help me carry this box?

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

Answer key

  1. firm — decided
  2. tear — to rip
  3. firm — a company
  4. wake — before a funeral
  5. can — a tin
  6. pitcher — in baseball
  7. field — a subject
  8. chest — of your body
  9. wake — to stop sleeping
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. chest — a box
  12. wake — a trail
  13. chest — of your body
  14. tear — from crying
  15. court — of law
  16. firm — steady
  17. court — for sport
  18. field — for sport
  19. field — farmland
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. court — of a king
  22. can — a tin
  23. tear — from crying
  24. can — to be able to

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