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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. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  4. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  5. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. My mare is ________________ in color.
  8. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  12. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  19. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  20. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.

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. pound — a weight
  4. pound — for dogs
  5. track — a song
  6. court — for sport
  7. bay — a horse colour
  8. bay — to keep at bay
  9. tear — from crying
  10. court — of a king
  11. pound — to hit hard
  12. squash — to crush
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. track — to keep track
  15. tear — to rip
  16. court — of law
  17. band — a ring
  18. squash — the sport
  19. squash — the vegetable
  20. track — a path
  21. band — a music group
  22. field — for sport
  23. field — farmland
  24. bay — a part of the sea

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