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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 kitten curled into a ________________.
  2. The King held a masked ________________.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  5. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  6. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  7. How do you ________________ your surname?
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  10. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  11. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  12. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  13. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  16. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  17. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  18. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  19. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  20. This piece is in a major ________________.
  21. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  22. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  23. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  24. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a round shape
  2. ball — a dance
  3. field — a subject
  4. bass — the instrument
  5. dip — a sauce
  6. key — the most important part
  7. spell — letters
  8. field — farmland
  9. mark — to pay attention
  10. dip — to dunk
  11. mark — a grade
  12. ball — a great time
  13. track — a path
  14. field — for sport
  15. bass — low music
  16. dip — to sink
  17. track — a song
  18. mark — a trace
  19. bass — the fish
  20. key — in music
  21. spell — magic
  22. key — for a lock
  23. track — to keep track
  24. spell — a short time

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