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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. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  5. It's one o'clock ________________.
  6. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  7. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  8. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  9. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  10. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. I can't ________________ this cold.
  15. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  18. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  19. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  20. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  21. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  24. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. field — farmland
  3. tear — from crying
  4. fan — to cool the air
  5. sharp — exactly
  6. drill — a practice
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. root — the cause
  9. root — of a word
  10. pit — a fruit stone
  11. field — a subject
  12. stand — on your feet
  13. field — for sport
  14. stand — to bear
  15. pit — in a race
  16. tear — to rip
  17. drill — army training
  18. drill — the tool
  19. sharp — with an edge
  20. root — of a plant
  21. sharp — clever
  22. tear — from crying
  23. pit — a hole
  24. stand — for spectators

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