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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: field · track · rush · cold · tear · plane · perch · bear

  1. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  3. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  6. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  7. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. That must've been a ________________.
  12. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  13. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  16. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. The ________________ took off on time.
  20. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  21. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  22. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  23. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. bear — the animal
  3. plane — in geometry
  4. field — a subject
  5. rush — hurry
  6. track — a song
  7. bear — to put up with
  8. tear — from crying
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. cold — an illness
  11. rush — a thrill
  12. perch — the fish
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. cold — not warm
  15. rush — to hurry
  16. track — to keep track
  17. field — farmland
  18. tear — from crying
  19. plane — an aircraft
  20. bear — the animal
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. plane — a tool
  23. track — a path
  24. tear — to rip

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