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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. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  5. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  13. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  14. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  15. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  16. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  19. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  20. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  21. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  24. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. tear — from crying
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. hand — help
  7. bear — to put up with
  8. tear — to rip
  9. pit — in a race
  10. field — a subject
  11. hand — in cards
  12. cap — a lid
  13. rest — a break
  14. bear — the animal
  15. cap — a hat
  16. rest — what's left
  17. field — farmland
  18. cap — of ice
  19. pit — a fruit stone
  20. pit — a hole
  21. bear — the animal
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. tear — from crying
  24. rest — what's left

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