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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. We're almost out of ________________.
  2. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  8. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  9. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  14. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  15. The King held a masked ________________.
  16. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  17. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  21. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  22. You don't need to ________________ round.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — soda
  2. ball — a great time
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. present — there
  5. file — a tool
  6. field — for sport
  7. bowl — a football final
  8. pop — music
  9. stick — to attach or keep to
  10. file — a line of people
  11. present — the time now
  12. file — a document
  13. bowl — to roll
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. ball — a dance
  16. bowl — a dish
  17. present — a gift
  18. field — farmland
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. ball — a round shape
  21. mine — for digging
  22. pop — to visit
  23. field — a subject
  24. stick — a piece of wood

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