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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: wound · field · fan · sharp · tear · dip · toast · mate

  1. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  2. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  3. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  6. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  7. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  8. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  9. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  10. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  11. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. It's one o'clock ________________.
  16. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. Have you found your soul ________________?
  20. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — with an edge
  2. toast — a drink to someone
  3. dip — a sauce
  4. tear — from crying
  5. sharp — clever
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. fan — to cool the air
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. toast — the most admired
  10. dip — to sink
  11. mate — a friend
  12. wound — an injury
  13. dip — to dunk
  14. tear — from crying
  15. sharp — exactly
  16. toast — bread
  17. tear — to rip
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. mate — a partner
  20. mate — to breed
  21. field — farmland
  22. field — a subject
  23. wound — an injury
  24. field — for sport

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