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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: date · fan · kid · ground · object · tear · field · bowl

  1. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  3. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  4. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  5. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  8. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  19. Have you settled on a ________________?
  20. There's no middle ________________.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  24. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. ground — the earth
  3. object — a thing
  4. bowl — to roll
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. bowl — a dish
  8. object — to protest
  9. ground — crushed
  10. kid — to tease
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. field — farmland
  13. date — the fruit
  14. tear — from crying
  15. object — an aim
  16. tear — from crying
  17. field — a subject
  18. bowl — a football final
  19. date — on the calendar
  20. ground — a position
  21. kid — child
  22. tear — to rip
  23. fan — to cool the air
  24. date — on the calendar

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