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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 120 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. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  2. He is an ace ________________.
  3. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  4. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  8. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  9. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  10. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  11. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  12. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  17. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.
  19. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  20. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  23. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in biology
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. scale — for weighing
  4. scale — in music
  5. field — a subject
  6. wind — moving air
  7. fine — high quality
  8. fine — a penalty
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. wake — before a funeral
  11. fine — all right
  12. squash — to crush
  13. field — for sport
  14. wind — moving air
  15. cell — a phone
  16. squash — the sport
  17. squash — the vegetable
  18. cell — in a prison
  19. wake — a trail
  20. wake — to stop sleeping
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. scale — size or range
  24. field — farmland

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