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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. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  2. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. Have you settled on a ________________?
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  8. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  9. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  16. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  20. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  21. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. I can't ________________ this cold.
  24. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — to crush
  2. prune — the fruit
  3. field — for sport
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. field — farmland
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. mouse — the animal
  9. squash — the sport
  10. spring — a coil
  11. date — the fruit
  12. game — a match
  13. stand — on your feet
  14. field — a subject
  15. prune — to trim
  16. squash — the vegetable
  17. spring — the season
  18. game — wild animals
  19. prune — to trim
  20. mouse — the animal
  21. mouse — for a computer
  22. spring — of water
  23. stand — to bear
  24. stand — for spectators

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