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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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Word bank
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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: field · content · rash · foot · plane · cap · tear · straw

  1. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  2. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  4. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  5. The ________________ took off on time.
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. Don't do anything ________________.
  8. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  17. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  18. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  23. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — on the skin
  2. straw — a straw man
  3. foot — part of the body
  4. cap — of ice
  5. plane — an aircraft
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. rash — hasty
  8. foot — a measure
  9. field — farmland
  10. content — happy
  11. plane — a tool
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. tear — from crying
  15. content — the amount
  16. rash — a series
  17. cap — a lid
  18. foot — the bottom
  19. tear — from crying
  20. field — a subject
  21. field — for sport
  22. plane — in geometry
  23. cap — a hat
  24. tear — to rip

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