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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 King held a masked ________________.
  2. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  3. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  4. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  5. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  6. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  7. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  8. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  9. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. You don't need to ________________ round.
  13. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. We're almost out of ________________.
  16. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  20. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  21. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  22. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  23. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  24. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a dance
  2. mark — a trace
  3. prune — to trim
  4. prune — the fruit
  5. mark — to pay attention
  6. ball — a round shape
  7. lean — to rest against
  8. drill — the tool
  9. pop — music
  10. field — for sport
  11. kid — child
  12. pop — to visit
  13. lean — thin
  14. field — farmland
  15. pop — soda
  16. drill — a practice
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. field — a subject
  19. drill — army training
  20. mark — a grade
  21. lean — to bend
  22. prune — to trim
  23. kid — to tease
  24. ball — a great 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