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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 · wake · drill · ball · jam · straw · kick · field

  1. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  6. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  7. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  8. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  9. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  13. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  14. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  15. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  16. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  17. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. The King held a masked ________________.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  23. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. ball — a round shape
  3. tear — from crying
  4. field — a subject
  5. kick — with a leg
  6. jam — in traffic
  7. jam — to spread on bread
  8. drill — the tool
  9. jam — a tight spot
  10. tear — to rip
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. kick — a thrill
  13. wake — to stop sleeping
  14. wake — a trail
  15. wake — before a funeral
  16. drill — army training
  17. ball — a great time
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. ball — a dance
  20. tear — from crying
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. kick — in football
  23. drill — a practice
  24. field — farmland

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