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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: board · club · bound · rest · date · field · tear · deal

  1. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  5. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  6. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  7. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  8. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  9. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  10. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  11. That was ________________ to happen.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  14. Have you settled on a ________________?
  15. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  19. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  20. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  23. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  24. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. rest — a break
  3. field — a subject
  4. date — the fruit
  5. board — to get on
  6. deal — an agreement
  7. club — for dancing
  8. club — a group
  9. deal — to handle
  10. bound — obliged
  11. bound — certain
  12. field — farmland
  13. deal — a big deal
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. field — for sport
  17. tear — from crying
  18. rest — what's left
  19. club — for golf
  20. rest — what's left
  21. tear — to rip
  22. board — a flat piece
  23. bound — tied together
  24. board — a committee

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