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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  5. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  6. The King held a masked ________________.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  9. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  10. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  11. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. We're on a ________________ here.
  15. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. prune — to trim
  3. prune — to trim
  4. prune — the fruit
  5. roll — a list
  6. ball — a dance
  7. cell — a phone
  8. ball — a great time
  9. ball — a round shape
  10. wake — before a funeral
  11. roll — a cake
  12. field — farmland
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. roll — on a roll
  15. wake — a trail
  16. cell — in biology
  17. wake — to stop sleeping
  18. field — a subject

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