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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 116 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. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  2. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  5. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. That must've been a ________________.
  12. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  13. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  14. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  15. We're almost out of ________________.
  16. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  20. You don't need to ________________ round.
  21. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  22. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  23. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  24. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?

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

Answer key

  1. scale — in music
  2. pop — music
  3. field — for sport
  4. object — to protest
  5. rush — to hurry
  6. field — farmland
  7. rush — hurry
  8. tear — from crying
  9. wake — before a funeral
  10. tear — to rip
  11. rush — a thrill
  12. object — a thing
  13. wake — to stop sleeping
  14. fan — to cool the air
  15. pop — soda
  16. scale — size or range
  17. field — a subject
  18. tear — from crying
  19. object — an aim
  20. pop — to visit
  21. scale — for weighing
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. wake — a trail
  24. fan — a supporter

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