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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: suit · game · swing · field · bear · pit · tear · wake

  1. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  7. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  8. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  9. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  10. David sat on the ________________.
  11. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  19. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  22. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  23. When will it ________________ you to start?
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — the animal
  2. tear — from crying
  3. tear — from crying
  4. wake — before a funeral
  5. tear — to rip
  6. wake — to stop sleeping
  7. pit — a fruit stone
  8. swing — music
  9. bear — to put up with
  10. swing — to play on
  11. suit — clothes
  12. field — for sport
  13. wake — a trail
  14. field — farmland
  15. game — a match
  16. swing — in golf
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. pit — a hole
  19. suit — in cards
  20. field — a subject
  21. pit — in a race
  22. bear — the animal
  23. suit — to fit
  24. game — wild animals

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