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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. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  16. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  17. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. Don't do anything ________________.
  21. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  22. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  23. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  24. I seem to be developing a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. tear — from crying
  3. rash — a series
  4. content — happy
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. field — for sport
  7. file — a document
  8. file — a tool
  9. board — a flat piece
  10. tear — from crying
  11. board — to get on
  12. field — a subject
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. tear — to rip
  15. perch — the fish
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. leaves — lets stay
  18. content — the amount
  19. file — a line of people
  20. rash — hasty
  21. leaves — of a tree
  22. leaves — to go away
  23. board — a committee
  24. rash — on the skin

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