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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. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  4. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  5. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  10. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. The King held a masked ________________.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. We're on a ________________ here.
  24. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.

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

Answer key

  1. object — a thing
  2. field — for sport
  3. pound — for dogs
  4. ball — a great time
  5. ball — a round shape
  6. mine — for digging
  7. pound — a weight
  8. march — music
  9. object — an aim
  10. object — to protest
  11. wind — moving air
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. roll — a cake
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. ball — a dance
  16. march — the month
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. march — the month
  19. wind — moving air
  20. pound — to hit hard
  21. field — farmland
  22. field — a subject
  23. roll — on a roll
  24. roll — a list

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