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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. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  4. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  5. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  6. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  7. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  8. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  11. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. The ________________ went through the wall.
  15. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. What do you think of the new ________________?
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  20. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  24. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. tear — from crying
  3. present — the time now
  4. face — to confront
  5. nail — on a finger
  6. present — there
  7. fork — a garden tool
  8. present — a gift
  9. game — a match
  10. cabinet — a cupboard
  11. fork — in a road
  12. tear — to rip
  13. field — farmland
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. face — part of the head
  16. field — for sport
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. tear — from crying
  19. cabinet — ministers
  20. fork — to eat with
  21. game — wild animals
  22. face — to point toward
  23. game — a kind of play
  24. nail — for a hammer

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