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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. What do you think of the new ________________?
  3. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  11. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  12. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  15. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  16. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  17. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  18. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  19. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  24. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — to rip
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. club — for golf
  4. field — farmland
  5. field — for sport
  6. trunk — of a tree
  7. field — a subject
  8. cap — a lid
  9. wind — moving air
  10. club — for dancing
  11. snap — to speak sharply
  12. cap — of ice
  13. tear — from crying
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. snap — to click
  16. trunk — of an elephant
  17. trunk — of a car
  18. cabinet — a cupboard
  19. club — a group
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. cap — a hat
  22. wind — moving air
  23. snap — to snap out of it
  24. tear — from crying

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