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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: hand · bowl · field · wave · fine · racket · tear · lean

  1. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  5. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  8. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  9. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  14. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  18. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  21. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  22. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  23. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  24. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. hand — in cards
  4. bowl — to roll
  5. wave — with your hand
  6. hand — help
  7. wave — a sudden rise
  8. fine — all right
  9. lean — thin
  10. field — a subject
  11. wave — of the sea
  12. tear — to rip
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. bowl — a dish
  15. tear — from crying
  16. field — farmland
  17. racket — a loud noise
  18. lean — to rest against
  19. field — for sport
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. bowl — a football final
  22. lean — to bend
  23. fine — high quality
  24. fine — a penalty

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