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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. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  16. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  21. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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. content — the amount
  4. staff — a stick
  5. field — farmland
  6. tear — from crying
  7. cold — not warm
  8. tear — to rip
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. firm — steady
  11. wind — moving air
  12. content — happy
  13. fine — a penalty
  14. cold — an illness
  15. firm — a company
  16. staff — employees
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. fine — all right
  19. field — for sport
  20. staff — employees
  21. fine — high quality
  22. wind — moving air
  23. firm — decided
  24. content — videos and posts

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