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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. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  2. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  3. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. It's one o'clock ________________.
  6. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  7. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  8. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  9. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  10. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  11. You don't need to ________________ round.
  12. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  13. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  14. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  17. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. We're almost out of ________________.
  20. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  21. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  22. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  23. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  24. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — clever
  2. trunk — of a car
  3. squash — the vegetable
  4. field — a subject
  5. sharp — exactly
  6. rock — a stone
  7. trunk — of an elephant
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. pitch — a sales talk
  10. rock — to move gently
  11. pop — to visit
  12. pop — music
  13. squash — to crush
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. field — farmland
  16. pitch — a sports field
  17. trunk — of a tree
  18. field — for sport
  19. pop — soda
  20. squash — the sport
  21. fan — to cool the air
  22. sharp — with an edge
  23. rock — music
  24. pitch — completely

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