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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 120 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. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  4. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  5. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  8. The King held a masked ________________.
  9. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  10. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  11. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  12. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  13. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  14. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  15. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  16. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  17. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  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. mark — to pay attention
  2. field — farmland
  3. ball — a great time
  4. deal — to handle
  5. mark — a trace
  6. field — for sport
  7. wake — a trail
  8. ball — a dance
  9. wake — before a funeral
  10. mark — a grade
  11. deal — an agreement
  12. wake — to stop sleeping
  13. scale — for weighing
  14. scale — size or range
  15. deal — a big deal
  16. scale — in music
  17. ball — a round shape
  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