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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 ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  2. Have you met the new head ________________?
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  7. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  8. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  9. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  10. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  11. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  12. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  13. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  14. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  15. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. The ________________ went through the wall.
  20. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  21. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  22. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  23. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — a sauce
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. prune — to trim
  4. bowl — to roll
  5. field — farmland
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. row — to paddle
  9. row — a quarrel
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. coach — pulled by horses
  12. dip — to dunk
  13. bowl — a dish
  14. row — a line
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. prune — to trim
  18. field — for sport
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. nail — on a finger
  21. bowl — a football final
  22. dip — to sink
  23. fan — to cool the air
  24. field — a subject

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