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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. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  8. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  9. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  10. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  13. The ________________ went through the wall.
  14. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  17. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  18. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  19. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  20. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  21. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  22. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  23. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — a meteor shower
  2. field — for sport
  3. fine — high quality
  4. field — a subject
  5. shower — to wash
  6. shower — rain
  7. nail — on a finger
  8. current — happening now
  9. current — electric
  10. squash — the vegetable
  11. tear — from crying
  12. lean — to bend
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. fine — all right
  15. field — farmland
  16. squash — the sport
  17. lean — to rest against
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. current — of water
  20. squash — to crush
  21. lean — thin
  22. fine — a penalty
  23. tear — from crying
  24. tear — to rip

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