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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 120 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 surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  2. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  3. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  7. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  10. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  11. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  12. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  13. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  14. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  15. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  16. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  20. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  21. He is an ace ________________.
  22. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. You can't go backstage without a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wave — of the sea
  2. pass — to succeed
  3. wave — with your hand
  4. field — for sport
  5. tear — from crying
  6. branch — of a bank
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. tear — from crying
  9. present — there
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. track — to keep track
  12. track — a path
  13. wave — a sudden rise
  14. branch — of a tree
  15. track — a song
  16. present — the time now
  17. field — a subject
  18. tear — to rip
  19. present — a gift
  20. branch — a division
  21. pitcher — in baseball
  22. pass — to spend time
  23. field — farmland
  24. pass — a permit

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