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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. It's one o'clock ________________.
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  7. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  10. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  11. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  14. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  15. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  16. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  17. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  18. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  19. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. This piece is in a major ________________.
  22. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  23. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  24. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — exactly
  2. spring — a coil
  3. key — the most important part
  4. field — a subject
  5. field — farmland
  6. sharp — with an edge
  7. prune — the fruit
  8. field — for sport
  9. rest — what's left
  10. prune — to trim
  11. bass — the fish
  12. spring — of water
  13. club — for golf
  14. club — for dancing
  15. sharp — clever
  16. club — a group
  17. rest — what's left
  18. key — for a lock
  19. prune — to trim
  20. spring — the season
  21. key — in music
  22. bass — the instrument
  23. rest — a break
  24. bass — low music

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