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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. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. David sat on the ________________.
  3. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  4. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  5. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  6. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  7. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  8. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  9. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  10. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  14. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  15. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  16. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  17. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  18. It's one o'clock ________________.
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  22. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. There's no middle ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. swing — to play on
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. swing — music
  5. prune — the fruit
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. perch — the fish
  8. prune — to trim
  9. jam — to spread on bread
  10. jam — in traffic
  11. field — for sport
  12. field — farmland
  13. sharp — with an edge
  14. prune — to trim
  15. swing — in golf
  16. ground — the earth
  17. ground — crushed
  18. sharp — exactly
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. mine — for digging
  21. jam — a tight spot
  22. sharp — clever
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. ground — a position

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