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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: saw · pop · land · mark · field · kid · tear · toast

  1. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  5. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  6. You don't need to ________________ round.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  9. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  10. She's very handy with a ________________.
  11. We're almost out of ________________.
  12. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  13. He works in a ________________ mill.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  18. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  2. land — ground
  3. field — a subject
  4. toast — bread
  5. mark — a trace
  6. pop — to visit
  7. kid — child
  8. pop — music
  9. toast — the most admired
  10. saw — the tool
  11. pop — soda
  12. mark — a grade
  13. saw — the tool
  14. tear — to rip
  15. land — a country
  16. field — farmland
  17. mark — to pay attention
  18. toast — a drink to someone
  19. tear — from crying
  20. kid — to tease
  21. saw — past of 'see'
  22. field — for sport
  23. land — to come down
  24. tear — from crying

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