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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: tear · temple · clip · bound · field · safe · swing · deal

  1. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  4. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  5. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  6. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  9. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  12. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  13. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  16. David sat on the ________________.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. That was ________________ to happen.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. When was this ________________ built?
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  24. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. field — a subject
  3. swing — in golf
  4. safe — a strongbox
  5. deal — to handle
  6. safe — out of danger
  7. clip — a video
  8. bound — obliged
  9. deal — a big deal
  10. tear — from crying
  11. safe — out of danger
  12. bound — tied together
  13. temple — a place of worship
  14. field — farmland
  15. deal — an agreement
  16. swing — to play on
  17. field — for sport
  18. bound — certain
  19. clip — for paper
  20. clip — to cut
  21. temple — a place of worship
  22. tear — to rip
  23. temple — side of the head
  24. swing — music

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