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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. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  3. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  4. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  5. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  6. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  7. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. You don't need to ________________ round.
  10. We're almost out of ________________.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  13. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  14. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  15. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  20. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. cap — of ice
  3. trunk — of a tree
  4. squash — the sport
  5. firm — steady
  6. cap — a lid
  7. firm — a company
  8. game — a match
  9. pop — to visit
  10. pop — soda
  11. field — for sport
  12. firm — decided
  13. pop — music
  14. squash — the vegetable
  15. trunk — of a car
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. march — the month
  18. march — music
  19. trunk — of an elephant
  20. cap — a hat
  21. field — a subject
  22. field — farmland
  23. march — the month
  24. squash — to crush

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