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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. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  3. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  14. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  15. Where did you ________________ them?
  16. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  17. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  18. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  19. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  22. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  23. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  24. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. mouse — the animal
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. field — for sport
  5. capital — money
  6. court — for sport
  7. mug — a cup
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. court — of law
  10. field — farmland
  11. capital — a city
  12. prune — to trim
  13. face — part of the head
  14. mouse — for a computer
  15. mug — to rob
  16. face — to point toward
  17. hide — animal skin
  18. mug — a face
  19. prune — the fruit
  20. field — a subject
  21. hide — to keep secret
  22. face — to confront
  23. hide — to keep secret
  24. court — of a king

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