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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. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  2. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. The King held a masked ________________.
  6. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  11. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  12. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  15. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  16. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  17. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  18. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  19. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  20. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  24. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a great time
  2. game — wild animals
  3. game — a match
  4. field — for sport
  5. ball — a dance
  6. present — the time now
  7. hand — help
  8. ball — a round shape
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. snap — to speak sharply
  11. present — a gift
  12. current — happening now
  13. field — a subject
  14. current — of water
  15. snap — to click
  16. current — electric
  17. prune — to trim
  18. prune — to trim
  19. prune — the fruit
  20. snap — to snap out of it
  21. field — farmland
  22. hand — in cards
  23. game — a kind of play
  24. present — there

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