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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 120 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. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  2. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  7. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  8. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  9. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  13. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  22. Did you ________________ the meat?
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  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. season — of the year
  2. pass — a permit
  3. field — for sport
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. tear — to rip
  6. root — of a plant
  7. foot — the bottom
  8. foot — part of the body
  9. root — the cause
  10. field — farmland
  11. wound — an injury
  12. pass — to spend time
  13. pass — to succeed
  14. kid — child
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. season — in sport
  17. wound — an injury
  18. foot — a measure
  19. tear — from crying
  20. kid — to tease
  21. root — of a word
  22. season — to add flavour
  23. field — a subject
  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