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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 newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  12. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  16. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  17. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  18. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  19. The ________________ went through the wall.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  22. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  23. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  24. I had a ________________ with my boss today.

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

Answer key

  1. foot — the bottom
  2. tear — from crying
  3. field — farmland
  4. field — for sport
  5. rock — a stone
  6. hand — in cards
  7. foot — part of the body
  8. hand — help
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. tear — from crying
  11. jam — in traffic
  12. jam — a tight spot
  13. row — to paddle
  14. field — a subject
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. rock — to move gently
  17. foot — a measure
  18. jam — to spread on bread
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. tear — to rip
  21. row — a line
  22. nail — on a finger
  23. rock — music
  24. row — a quarrel

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