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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. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  12. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  15. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  19. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  23. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  24. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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. wake — a trail
  4. game — wild animals
  5. fork — to eat with
  6. game — a match
  7. wax — in the ear
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. wax — for sculpting
  10. tear — to rip
  11. fork — a garden tool
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. wax — to grow
  15. stick — to attach or keep to
  16. kid — to tease
  17. field — farmland
  18. wake — to stop sleeping
  19. wake — before a funeral
  20. field — for sport
  21. kid — child
  22. stick — a piece of wood
  23. fork — in a road
  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