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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. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  2. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  3. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  7. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  8. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  9. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  10. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  11. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  15. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  16. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. Don't do anything ________________.
  20. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  21. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  22. There's no middle ________________.
  23. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  24. Did you ________________ the button?

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

Answer key

  1. firm — decided
  2. rash — on the skin
  3. bass — the fish
  4. field — a subject
  5. spring — a coil
  6. rash — a series
  7. press — newspapers
  8. bass — the instrument
  9. prune — to trim
  10. firm — steady
  11. prune — to trim
  12. field — farmland
  13. spring — of water
  14. ground — the earth
  15. bass — low music
  16. ground — crushed
  17. spring — the season
  18. field — for sport
  19. rash — hasty
  20. prune — the fruit
  21. firm — a company
  22. ground — a position
  23. press — a publisher
  24. press — to push

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