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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 116 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. You don't need to ________________ round.
  2. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  3. We're almost out of ________________.
  4. He works in a ________________ mill.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  7. That must've been a ________________.
  8. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  9. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  10. She's very handy with a ________________.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  13. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  16. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  17. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. Don't do anything ________________.
  23. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  24. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — to visit
  2. saw — past of 'see'
  3. pop — soda
  4. saw — the tool
  5. field — a subject
  6. lean — thin
  7. rush — a thrill
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. rush — hurry
  10. saw — the tool
  11. field — farmland
  12. rash — on the skin
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. degree — an amount
  15. rush — to hurry
  16. rash — a series
  17. lean — to rest against
  18. field — for sport
  19. degree — temperature
  20. lean — to bend
  21. degree — from a university
  22. rash — hasty
  23. fan — to cool the air
  24. pop — music

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