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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 120 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's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  4. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. Where did you ________________ them?
  8. I'll be taking the ________________.
  9. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  10. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  15. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  16. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. You don't need to ________________ round.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. There's no middle ________________.
  21. We're almost out of ________________.
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  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. field — a subject
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. tube — in a tire
  4. ground — the earth
  5. tear — from crying
  6. ground — crushed
  7. mug — to rob
  8. tube — the underground
  9. pound — to hit hard
  10. tube — a container
  11. field — farmland
  12. pop — music
  13. tear — from crying
  14. pound — a weight
  15. mug — a cup
  16. mug — a face
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. pop — to visit
  19. field — for sport
  20. ground — a position
  21. pop — soda
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. pound — for dogs
  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