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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. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  4. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  5. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  6. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  7. That must've been a ________________.
  8. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  9. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  10. The King held a masked ________________.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  14. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  15. He works in a ________________ mill.
  16. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  20. She's very handy with a ________________.
  21. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  22. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  23. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  24. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. field — for sport
  3. rush — hurry
  4. bass — low music
  5. cap — of ice
  6. rush — to hurry
  7. rush — a thrill
  8. deal — a big deal
  9. ball — a round shape
  10. ball — a dance
  11. mine — for digging
  12. field — farmland
  13. bass — the instrument
  14. deal — to handle
  15. saw — the tool
  16. cap — a hat
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. field — a subject
  19. cap — a lid
  20. saw — the tool
  21. bass — the fish
  22. saw — past of 'see'
  23. deal — an agreement
  24. ball — a great time

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