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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 124 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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: foot · chair · ruler · field · tear · key

  1. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  4. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  9. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  10. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  11. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  14. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  15. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  16. This piece is in a major ________________.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — to rip
  2. tear — from crying
  3. chair — to sit on
  4. key — the most important part
  5. field — for sport
  6. key — for a lock
  7. field — farmland
  8. ruler — for measuring
  9. chair — a leader
  10. chair — a professorship
  11. foot — part of the body
  12. tear — from crying
  13. foot — the bottom
  14. ruler — a monarch
  15. foot — a measure
  16. key — in music
  17. field — a subject
  18. ruler — for measuring

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