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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: tear · saw · sharp · content · pit · rash · field · band

  1. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  3. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  8. She's very handy with a ________________.
  9. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. It's one o'clock ________________.
  13. He works in a ________________ mill.
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. sharp — with an edge
  3. pit — in a race
  4. field — a subject
  5. pit — a hole
  6. field — farmland
  7. sharp — clever
  8. saw — the tool
  9. rash — on the skin
  10. tear — to rip
  11. band — a music group
  12. sharp — exactly
  13. saw — the tool
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. content — happy
  16. band — a ring
  17. pit — a fruit stone
  18. tear — from crying
  19. tear — from crying
  20. rash — a series
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. content — the amount
  23. saw — past of 'see'
  24. field — for sport

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