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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: bowl · rash · hand · firm · field · tear · nail · cell

  1. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  8. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  11. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  16. Don't do anything ________________.
  17. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  18. The ________________ went through the wall.
  19. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  24. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. field — a subject
  3. rash — a series
  4. tear — from crying
  5. tear — to rip
  6. field — farmland
  7. nail — on a finger
  8. bowl — a dish
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. bowl — to roll
  11. rash — on the skin
  12. cell — in biology
  13. firm — decided
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. firm — steady
  16. rash — hasty
  17. bowl — a football final
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. cell — a phone
  20. field — for sport
  21. tear — from crying
  22. hand — in cards
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. firm — a company

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