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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 116 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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  3. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  6. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  7. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  8. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. The ________________ went through the wall.
  11. This piece is in a major ________________.
  12. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  13. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  20. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  21. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. He is an ace ________________.
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. nail — on a finger
  3. pit — a fruit stone
  4. tear — from crying
  5. key — for a lock
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. craft — a handicraft
  8. pit — a hole
  9. kid — child
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. key — in music
  12. craft — boats
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. field — farmland
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. tear — from crying
  17. key — the most important part
  18. field — for sport
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. pit — in a race
  21. craft — a skill
  22. tear — to rip
  23. pitcher — in baseball
  24. field — a subject

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