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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. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  3. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  4. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  5. I can't ________________ this cold.
  6. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  7. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  10. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  11. That must've been a ________________.
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. You don't need to ________________ round.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. We're almost out of ________________.
  19. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  20. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. stand — for spectators
  3. pop — music
  4. rush — to hurry
  5. stand — to bear
  6. rush — hurry
  7. bass — low music
  8. field — farmland
  9. bass — the instrument
  10. craft — a skill
  11. rush — a thrill
  12. last — finally
  13. pop — to visit
  14. last — final
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. bass — the fish
  17. last — to go on
  18. pop — soda
  19. stand — on your feet
  20. craft — a handicraft
  21. field — for sport
  22. craft — boats
  23. field — a subject
  24. mine — an explosive

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