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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. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  3. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  4. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  5. What do you think of the new ________________?
  6. The King held a masked ________________.
  7. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. Don't do anything ________________.
  14. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  19. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  24. What was your ________________ profit last year?

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. club — for dancing
  3. cabinet — a cupboard
  4. rash — on the skin
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. ball — a dance
  7. club — a group
  8. field — for sport
  9. march — the month
  10. ball — a great time
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. march — the month
  13. rash — hasty
  14. ball — a round shape
  15. shower — rain
  16. shower — to wash
  17. field — a subject
  18. net — for catching
  19. club — for golf
  20. net — in sport
  21. rash — a series
  22. march — music
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. net — after costs

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