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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. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  6. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  9. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  15. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  16. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  17. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  18. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  19. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  20. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  23. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  24. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. lean — to rest against
  3. field — a subject
  4. tear — from crying
  5. pass — to succeed
  6. calf — a young animal
  7. field — farmland
  8. chair — a leader
  9. calf — of the leg
  10. court — of law
  11. chair — to sit on
  12. tear — to rip
  13. court — for sport
  14. wake — before a funeral
  15. pass — a permit
  16. pass — to spend time
  17. chair — a professorship
  18. wake — to stop sleeping
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. lean — to bend
  21. court — of a king
  22. lean — thin
  23. wake — a trail
  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