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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. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. The tickets are free of ________________.
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  16. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  17. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  18. It's one o'clock ________________.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  22. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. He's quite ________________, isn't he?

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. calf — of the leg
  4. field — a subject
  5. game — a match
  6. field — farmland
  7. charge — a price
  8. shower — rain
  9. sharp — with an edge
  10. tear — from crying
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. tear — to rip
  14. tear — from crying
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. charge — in control
  17. charge — electricity
  18. sharp — exactly
  19. shower — to wash
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. snap — to click
  22. snap — to snap out of it
  23. game — wild animals
  24. sharp — clever

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