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

Word bank: trunk · tear · last · field · key · rock · ground · kid

  1. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  9. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  10. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. There's no middle ________________.
  15. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  16. This piece is in a major ________________.
  17. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  20. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  21. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  24. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. last — final
  3. ground — crushed
  4. tear — from crying
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. last — to go on
  7. tear — to rip
  8. key — for a lock
  9. rock — a stone
  10. trunk — of a car
  11. field — for sport
  12. last — finally
  13. kid — to tease
  14. ground — a position
  15. rock — music
  16. key — in music
  17. key — the most important part
  18. field — farmland
  19. trunk — of a tree
  20. rock — to move gently
  21. trunk — of an elephant
  22. kid — child
  23. ground — the earth
  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