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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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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: rush · ground · racket · object · bay · mate · tear · field

  1. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  2. That must've been a ________________.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  5. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. My mare is ________________ in color.
  9. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  10. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  11. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  17. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  18. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  19. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  20. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  21. There's no middle ________________.
  22. Have you found your soul ________________?
  23. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  24. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — to rip
  2. rush — a thrill
  3. tear — from crying
  4. racket — a loud noise
  5. bay — to keep at bay
  6. field — for sport
  7. tear — from crying
  8. bay — a horse colour
  9. object — to protest
  10. rush — hurry
  11. rush — to hurry
  12. ground — the earth
  13. field — a subject
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. field — farmland
  16. bay — a part of the sea
  17. ground — crushed
  18. mate — a friend
  19. object — an aim
  20. object — a thing
  21. ground — a position
  22. mate — a partner
  23. mate — to breed
  24. racket — for tennis

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