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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. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  2. We're almost out of ________________.
  3. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  4. You don't need to ________________ round.
  5. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. He is an ace ________________.
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  18. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  21. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  24. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — the fruit
  2. pop — soda
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. pop — to visit
  5. race — the arms race
  6. cell — a phone
  7. pop — music
  8. field — farmland
  9. pitcher — in baseball
  10. cell — in biology
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. prune — to trim
  13. field — for sport
  14. foot — part of the body
  15. march — music
  16. race — a contest
  17. foot — the bottom
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. field — a subject
  20. march — the month
  21. foot — a measure
  22. march — the month
  23. race — humankind
  24. prune — to trim

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