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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 girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  2. We're almost out of ________________.
  3. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  6. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  7. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  8. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  9. You don't need to ________________ round.
  10. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  11. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  12. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  13. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  14. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  15. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  18. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  21. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  22. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  23. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a line
  2. pop — soda
  3. squash — the vegetable
  4. prune — to trim
  5. wake — a trail
  6. row — to paddle
  7. pop — music
  8. fork — to eat with
  9. pop — to visit
  10. wake — before a funeral
  11. fork — a garden tool
  12. squash — to crush
  13. deal — a big deal
  14. deal — to handle
  15. squash — the sport
  16. field — a subject
  17. fork — in a road
  18. wake — to stop sleeping
  19. field — farmland
  20. prune — the fruit
  21. deal — an agreement
  22. prune — to trim
  23. row — a quarrel
  24. field — for sport

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