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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. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  9. The King held a masked ________________.
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  12. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  17. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  18. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  19. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  22. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  23. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  24. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. prune — to trim
  3. file — a document
  4. court — of law
  5. present — the time now
  6. court — of a king
  7. field — farmland
  8. vault — in gymnastics
  9. ball — a dance
  10. file — a tool
  11. prune — to trim
  12. prune — the fruit
  13. court — for sport
  14. file — a line of people
  15. field — for sport
  16. vault — an arched ceiling
  17. bass — the fish
  18. ball — a great time
  19. bass — the instrument
  20. field — a subject
  21. present — a gift
  22. ball — a round shape
  23. present — there
  24. vault — a safe

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