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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. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  7. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  8. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  12. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  13. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. When will it ________________ you to start?
  19. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  20. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  23. It's one o'clock ________________.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. tear — from crying
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. track — to keep track
  5. field — farmland
  6. suit — in cards
  7. bear — the animal
  8. sharp — with an edge
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. band — a ring
  11. track — a song
  12. track — a path
  13. suit — clothes
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. sharp — clever
  16. tear — to rip
  17. tear — from crying
  18. suit — to fit
  19. bear — the animal
  20. bear — to put up with
  21. band — a music group
  22. band — a rubber band
  23. sharp — exactly
  24. field — for sport

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