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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. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  11. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  12. Where did you ________________ them?
  13. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  14. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  21. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  22. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  23. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. mug — a cup
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. field — for sport
  5. prune — to trim
  6. cold — an illness
  7. bass — the instrument
  8. cold — not warm
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. bass — the fish
  11. can — to be able to
  12. mug — to rob
  13. bass — low music
  14. can — a tin
  15. capital — money
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. mug — a face
  19. field — farmland
  20. prune — to trim
  21. can — a tin
  22. racket — a loud noise
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. capital — a city

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