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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. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  5. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  6. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  7. We're almost out of ________________.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. You don't need to ________________ round.
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  18. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  19. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  20. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. spring — the season
  3. spring — a coil
  4. fork — in a road
  5. prune — to trim
  6. pop — music
  7. pop — soda
  8. field — a subject
  9. pop — to visit
  10. race — the arms race
  11. fork — to eat with
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. prune — to trim
  14. band — a music group
  15. hide — animal skin
  16. race — a contest
  17. prune — the fruit
  18. fork — a garden tool
  19. race — humankind
  20. band — a ring
  21. field — for sport
  22. hide — to keep secret
  23. spring — of water
  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