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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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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: rash · object · field · swing · pop · snap · foot · tear

  1. We're almost out of ________________.
  2. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  3. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  8. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  9. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. David sat on the ________________.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  16. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  17. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  20. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  21. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  22. Don't do anything ________________.
  23. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  24. You don't need to ________________ round.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — soda
  2. object — a thing
  3. object — an aim
  4. tear — to rip
  5. snap — to speak sharply
  6. tear — from crying
  7. foot — the bottom
  8. swing — music
  9. foot — a measure
  10. field — for sport
  11. swing — to play on
  12. tear — from crying
  13. foot — part of the body
  14. field — a subject
  15. swing — in golf
  16. pop — music
  17. snap — to snap out of it
  18. field — farmland
  19. snap — to click
  20. rash — on the skin
  21. rash — a series
  22. rash — hasty
  23. object — to protest
  24. pop — to visit

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