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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 fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  2. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  9. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  12. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  15. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  18. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  19. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the fish
  2. bore — to tire
  3. court — for sport
  4. court — of law
  5. bore — gave birth
  6. court — of a king
  7. field — for sport
  8. prune — to trim
  9. wound — an injury
  10. wound — an injury
  11. bore — to drill
  12. scale — for weighing
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. bass — the instrument
  15. scale — in music
  16. field — farmland
  17. prune — the fruit
  18. prune — to trim
  19. bass — low music
  20. field — a subject
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. scale — size or range
  23. wind — moving air
  24. wind — moving air

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