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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. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. She's very handy with a ________________.
  3. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  4. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  5. The King held a masked ________________.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. You don't need to ________________ round.
  10. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  11. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  12. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  13. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  14. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. He works in a ________________ mill.
  19. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  20. We're almost out of ________________.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  24. We were using a ________________ as a seat.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. saw — the tool
  3. ball — a round shape
  4. rock — to move gently
  5. ball — a dance
  6. field — a subject
  7. branch — a division
  8. degree — from a university
  9. pop — to visit
  10. branch — of a tree
  11. ball — a great time
  12. saw — past of 'see'
  13. branch — of a bank
  14. pop — music
  15. field — for sport
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. degree — temperature
  18. saw — the tool
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. pop — soda
  21. field — farmland
  22. degree — an amount
  23. fan — to cool the air
  24. rock — a stone

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