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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 120 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 King held a masked ________________.
  2. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  5. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  13. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  14. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  15. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  18. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  19. What do you think of the new ________________?
  20. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  21. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  22. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  23. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  24. We were using a ________________ as a seat.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a dance
  2. pass — a permit
  3. field — for sport
  4. cabinet — ministers
  5. ball — a great time
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. net — after costs
  8. pass — to succeed
  9. net — for catching
  10. mine — for digging
  11. field — a subject
  12. ball — a round shape
  13. cabinet — a cupboard
  14. mine — an explosive
  15. prune — to trim
  16. field — farmland
  17. rock — music
  18. prune — the fruit
  19. cabinet — ministers
  20. pass — to spend time
  21. net — in sport
  22. rock — to move gently
  23. prune — to trim
  24. rock — a stone

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