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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 stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  3. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  4. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  5. She's very handy with a ________________.
  6. You don't need to ________________ round.
  7. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  8. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  9. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  10. This piece is in a major ________________.
  11. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  12. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  13. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  14. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  15. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  16. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  17. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. We're almost out of ________________.
  20. He works in a ________________ mill.
  21. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  22. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. pop — music
  3. key — for a lock
  4. saw — past of 'see'
  5. saw — the tool
  6. pop — to visit
  7. craft — a handicraft
  8. bass — low music
  9. key — the most important part
  10. key — in music
  11. bass — the instrument
  12. fall — to drop
  13. hide — animal skin
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. craft — boats
  16. bass — the fish
  17. craft — a skill
  18. field — farmland
  19. pop — soda
  20. saw — the tool
  21. hide — to keep secret
  22. fall — to drop
  23. field — a subject
  24. fall — the season

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