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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. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  3. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  8. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  11. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  12. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  13. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  14. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  15. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  16. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  17. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  18. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  19. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  20. The ________________ went through the wall.
  21. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  22. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  23. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  24. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. drill — army training
  3. cap — a hat
  4. prune — to trim
  5. prune — to trim
  6. field — farmland
  7. board — a committee
  8. bass — the instrument
  9. field — a subject
  10. board — to get on
  11. prune — the fruit
  12. nail — on a finger
  13. bass — low music
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. board — a flat piece
  16. lean — to rest against
  17. cap — a lid
  18. drill — a practice
  19. cap — of ice
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. lean — thin
  22. drill — the tool
  23. lean — to bend
  24. bass — the fish

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