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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. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  2. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. I can't ________________ this cold.
  8. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  9. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  15. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  19. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  20. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  21. Did you ________________ the meat?
  22. Have you settled on a ________________?
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  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. date — on the calendar
  2. race — a contest
  3. tear — from crying
  4. hand — help
  5. leaves — lets stay
  6. field — for sport
  7. stand — to bear
  8. season — in sport
  9. season — of the year
  10. hand — in cards
  11. leaves — of a tree
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. race — the arms race
  14. stand — on your feet
  15. race — humankind
  16. field — farmland
  17. field — a subject
  18. date — the fruit
  19. stand — for spectators
  20. leaves — to go away
  21. season — to add flavour
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. tear — to rip
  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