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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. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  4. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  5. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  9. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  17. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. Don't do anything ________________.
  22. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  23. There's no middle ________________.
  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 — from crying
  2. field — for sport
  3. rash — a series
  4. track — a path
  5. firm — a company
  6. capital — money
  7. kid — to tease
  8. track — a song
  9. ground — the earth
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. track — to keep track
  13. field — a subject
  14. firm — decided
  15. field — farmland
  16. rash — on the skin
  17. firm — steady
  18. kid — child
  19. capital — a city
  20. tear — to rip
  21. rash — hasty
  22. ground — crushed
  23. ground — a position
  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