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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 stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  6. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  7. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. She's very handy with a ________________.
  10. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  11. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. He works in a ________________ mill.
  23. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  24. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. band — a music group
  3. staff — employees
  4. prune — to trim
  5. prune — to trim
  6. wake — before a funeral
  7. wake — a trail
  8. court — for sport
  9. saw — the tool
  10. staff — employees
  11. saw — past of 'see'
  12. field — a subject
  13. lash — to lash out
  14. field — farmland
  15. court — of a king
  16. staff — a stick
  17. band — a ring
  18. prune — the fruit
  19. court — of law
  20. wake — to stop sleeping
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. saw — the tool
  23. lash — an eyelash
  24. lash — a whip stroke

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