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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. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  3. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  4. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  5. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  6. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  9. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  14. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  15. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  16. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  23. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  24. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. cap — a lid
  3. cap — of ice
  4. firm — steady
  5. row — a quarrel
  6. wave — a sudden rise
  7. tear — from crying
  8. firm — a company
  9. wave — of the sea
  10. row — to paddle
  11. branch — a division
  12. tear — to rip
  13. firm — decided
  14. cap — a hat
  15. wave — with your hand
  16. bark — of a tree
  17. field — a subject
  18. bark — a dog's sound
  19. tear — from crying
  20. row — a line
  21. field — farmland
  22. branch — of a tree
  23. branch — of a bank
  24. bark — to shout

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