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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. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  2. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  3. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  4. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  7. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  8. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  11. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. He is an ace ________________.
  24. A black ________________ roamed the forest.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — to rip
  2. safe — out of danger
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. last — final
  6. snap — to speak sharply
  7. bear — the animal
  8. safe — out of danger
  9. field — for sport
  10. safe — a strongbox
  11. bear — to put up with
  12. tear — from crying
  13. field — farmland
  14. field — a subject
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. last — finally
  17. chest — of your body
  18. chest — a box
  19. tear — from crying
  20. chest — of your body
  21. snap — to click
  22. last — to go on
  23. pitcher — in baseball
  24. bear — the animal

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