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

Word bank: foot · leaves · field · band · wake · fork · tear · content

  1. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  7. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  8. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  15. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  18. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  24. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. wake — to stop sleeping
  3. band — a ring
  4. foot — a measure
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. fork — in a road
  7. fork — to eat with
  8. leaves — of a tree
  9. content — happy
  10. band — a music group
  11. foot — the bottom
  12. field — a subject
  13. tear — to rip
  14. leaves — to go away
  15. fork — a garden tool
  16. tear — from crying
  17. wake — before a funeral
  18. foot — part of the body
  19. field — for sport
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. content — the amount
  22. field — farmland
  23. leaves — lets stay
  24. wake — a trail

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