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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. We're almost out of ________________.
  2. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  5. You don't need to ________________ round.
  6. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  7. The ________________ took off on time.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. Where did you ________________ them?
  10. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  11. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  18. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — soda
  2. pop — music
  3. field — a subject
  4. plane — in geometry
  5. pop — to visit
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. plane — an aircraft
  8. field — farmland
  9. mug — to rob
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. mug — a face
  12. field — for sport
  13. mug — a cup
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. hide — animal skin
  18. plane — a tool

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