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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. I'll be taking the ________________.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  4. There's no middle ________________.
  5. You don't need to ________________ round.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  9. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  10. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  14. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  15. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  16. We're almost out of ________________.
  17. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  18. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  19. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  20. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  23. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  24. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — the underground
  2. field — a subject
  3. ground — the earth
  4. ground — a position
  5. pop — to visit
  6. tear — from crying
  7. field — for sport
  8. safe — out of danger
  9. chair — a leader
  10. drill — army training
  11. tear — from crying
  12. field — farmland
  13. tube — a container
  14. drill — a practice
  15. chair — a professorship
  16. pop — soda
  17. pop — music
  18. tube — in a tire
  19. chair — to sit on
  20. ground — crushed
  21. tear — to rip
  22. safe — a strongbox
  23. safe — out of danger
  24. drill — the tool

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