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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 116 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. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  4. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  5. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  6. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. The tickets are free of ________________.
  10. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  11. Have you found your soul ________________?
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  21. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. field — for sport
  3. charge — in control
  4. mate — a friend
  5. drill — a practice
  6. mate — to breed
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. squash — the sport
  9. charge — a price
  10. squash — to crush
  11. mate — a partner
  12. last — final
  13. drill — army training
  14. bat — the animal
  15. prune — to trim
  16. last — finally
  17. prune — the fruit
  18. field — farmland
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. charge — electricity
  21. drill — the tool
  22. last — to go on
  23. field — a subject
  24. squash — the vegetable

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