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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 stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  4. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  12. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  13. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  14. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  17. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  20. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  23. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  24. We're on a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. field — farmland
  3. object — a thing
  4. lash — to lash out
  5. tear — from crying
  6. roll — a cake
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. lash — a whip stroke
  9. capital — money
  10. capital — a city
  11. kick — a thrill
  12. object — an aim
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. lash — an eyelash
  15. tear — to rip
  16. kick — with a leg
  17. stick — to attach or keep to
  18. field — a subject
  19. object — to protest
  20. kick — in football
  21. tear — from crying
  22. stick — a piece of wood
  23. roll — a list
  24. roll — on a roll

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