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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 polar ice ________________ is melting.
  2. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  3. The King held a masked ________________.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  7. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  8. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  9. My father caught me by the ________________.
  10. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  11. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  12. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  13. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  21. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  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. cap — of ice
  2. cap — a lid
  3. ball — a dance
  4. spring — a coil
  5. field — farmland
  6. present — there
  7. cap — a hat
  8. prune — the fruit
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. prune — to trim
  11. present — a gift
  12. ball — a round shape
  13. prune — to trim
  14. spring — the season
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. arm — a part of something
  17. spring — of water
  18. ball — a great time
  19. wind — moving air
  20. arm — part of the body
  21. present — the time now
  22. wind — moving air
  23. field — a subject
  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