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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: leaves · cell · toast · key · capital · rest · tear · field

  1. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. This piece is in a major ________________.
  12. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  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. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  23. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  24. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. leaves — to go away
  3. cell — a phone
  4. key — for a lock
  5. field — farmland
  6. cell — in biology
  7. toast — a drink to someone
  8. field — for sport
  9. rest — a break
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. key — in music
  12. key — the most important part
  13. capital — a city
  14. tear — from crying
  15. leaves — lets stay
  16. toast — bread
  17. tear — to rip
  18. toast — the most admired
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. capital — money
  21. field — a subject
  22. rest — what's left
  23. leaves — of a tree
  24. rest — what's left

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