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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. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  9. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  14. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  17. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  18. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  19. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  20. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. Did you ________________ the button?

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. spring — the season
  3. rest — what's left
  4. spring — a coil
  5. ground — a position
  6. net — after costs
  7. tear — to rip
  8. pound — a weight
  9. rest — a break
  10. field — a subject
  11. ground — crushed
  12. ground — the earth
  13. press — a publisher
  14. pound — for dogs
  15. field — farmland
  16. press — newspapers
  17. net — for catching
  18. rest — what's left
  19. net — in sport
  20. pound — to hit hard
  21. tear — from crying
  22. field — for sport
  23. spring — of water
  24. press — to push

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