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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. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  6. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  9. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  18. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  19. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  20. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  21. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  22. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  23. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  24. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. last — final
  4. field — farmland
  5. root — the cause
  6. pitch — a sales talk
  7. tear — from crying
  8. pitch — a sports field
  9. toast — the most admired
  10. field — for sport
  11. face — to point toward
  12. last — to go on
  13. last — finally
  14. tear — to rip
  15. face — part of the head
  16. field — a subject
  17. toast — a drink to someone
  18. toast — bread
  19. pitch — completely
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. racket — a loud noise
  22. face — to confront
  23. root — of a plant
  24. root — of a word

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