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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. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  4. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  5. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  6. Have you found your soul ________________?
  7. My mare is ________________ in color.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  12. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  13. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  14. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  17. The ball is in your ________________.
  18. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  22. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  23. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  24. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — to rip
  2. field — for sport
  3. mate — a friend
  4. bass — the fish
  5. scale — in music
  6. mate — a partner
  7. bay — a horse colour
  8. tear — from crying
  9. kick — in football
  10. tear — from crying
  11. mate — to breed
  12. bass — the instrument
  13. kick — a thrill
  14. kick — with a leg
  15. field — a subject
  16. scale — size or range
  17. court — for sport
  18. scale — for weighing
  19. court — of a king
  20. field — farmland
  21. bay — a part of the sea
  22. bay — to keep at bay
  23. bass — low music
  24. court — of law

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