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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. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  6. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  15. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  16. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  17. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  18. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  19. The ball is in your ________________.
  20. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  21. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  22. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  23. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  24. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. present — the time now
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. field — a subject
  5. present — a gift
  6. present — there
  7. field — for sport
  8. court — of a king
  9. court — of law
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. mine — for digging
  12. scale — in music
  13. field — farmland
  14. rock — to move gently
  15. bass — the instrument
  16. snap — to snap out of it
  17. scale — size or range
  18. scale — for weighing
  19. court — for sport
  20. snap — to speak sharply
  21. rock — a stone
  22. snap — to click
  23. bass — the fish
  24. bass — low music

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