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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. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  8. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  9. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  10. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  11. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  12. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  13. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  14. It's one o'clock ________________.
  15. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. When was this ________________ built?
  18. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  19. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  22. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  23. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  24. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. field — farmland
  3. squash — the sport
  4. march — the month
  5. prune — the fruit
  6. field — a subject
  7. prune — to trim
  8. craft — a skill
  9. face — to confront
  10. squash — the vegetable
  11. sharp — with an edge
  12. temple — side of the head
  13. craft — boats
  14. sharp — exactly
  15. temple — a place of worship
  16. field — for sport
  17. temple — a place of worship
  18. face — part of the head
  19. craft — a handicraft
  20. march — music
  21. squash — to crush
  22. sharp — clever
  23. face — to point toward
  24. march — the month

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