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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. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  7. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  8. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  9. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  12. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  13. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  14. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  17. It's one o'clock ________________.
  18. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  19. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  20. This piece is in a major ________________.
  21. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  22. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  24. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. jam — in traffic
  3. field — a subject
  4. pitch — completely
  5. field — for sport
  6. prune — the fruit
  7. sharp — clever
  8. prune — to trim
  9. key — for a lock
  10. court — of a king
  11. jam — a tight spot
  12. branch — of a tree
  13. sharp — with an edge
  14. jam — to spread on bread
  15. court — of law
  16. pitch — a sports field
  17. sharp — exactly
  18. pitch — a sales talk
  19. branch — a division
  20. key — in music
  21. key — the most important part
  22. branch — of a bank
  23. court — for sport
  24. prune — to trim

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